Kate Tolo got her first period at 13—an experience she says left her lying prostrate on the floor, debilitated by cramps and breaking out into a full-body sweat.

When she told her dad why she was home from school early, she remembers him saying, “We don’t talk about that female stuff.” Then he walked away.

For most of her teenage years, that was how Tolo thought about her period—as something “you just didn’t talk about.” When she was in her early twenties and experienced extreme pain while defecating, sending her to the emergency room, a doctor suggested Tolo may have endometriosis, a chronic disease believed to affect an estimated 10 percent of women of reproductive age, according to WHO data.

Caused by an overgrowth of endometrium-like tissue (uterine lining), endometriosis is primarily characterized by extremely heavy and painful periods, as well as pelvic floor dysfunction, bowel issues, and dyspareunia (pain during sex). The doctor recommended Tolo have a laparoscopy, an invasive surgical procedure required to get an official diagnosis and remove endometriosis tissue. But she refused: “I wasn’t going to undergo an invasive surgical procedure, or cut myself open,” she says. “That just wasn’t an option for me.”

Then in early 2026, Tolo started developing a concierge health service with her boyfriend Bryan Johnson, the technologist-cum-multimillionaire-cum-biohacker known for his quest to become immortal via rigid self-optimization and wellness protocols. During a clinical intake, she shared her lifelong struggle with suspected endometriosis—and he became obsessed with finding a cure.

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