Just last year, Black Panther star Lupita Nyong’o revealed that she’s been diagnosed with fibroids back in 2014, shortly after winning an Academy Award. At the time, she had surgery to remove 25 different fibroids, hoping to relieve her disruptive fibroid symptoms. But now, on her 43^rd birthday, the actress has revealed that her tumors have returned, sharing with her fans that she’s still struggling with fibroids.

Black Women More Likely to Be Struggling with Fibroids

While celebrating her 43rd birthday, the actress posted on Instagram, sharing the following caption alongside a photo of herself holding a fruit-filled basket. She wrote, “Today is my birthday and it’s got me feeling reflective. Not about age but about a different number: 77. Over the course of my lifetime I have carried 77 uterine fibroids: 25 surgically removed and more than 50 still growing inside me today, the largest the size of an orange. This is not a rare story. It is just a rarely told one,” she continued, noting that many women are silently struggling with fibroids.  

She continues, “I have endured seasons of constant pain, losing dangerous amounts of blood each month, and suffering in silence. In this image, I’m holding 77 fruits, as a symbol for each fibroid, to make visible the weight that I, and millions of women like me, carry every day.”

Recalling her decision to open about her fibroid journey, she went on to write, “Last year, I broke my silence. The response was overwhelming: women everywhere reached out with stories just like mine. That’s why I launched #MakeFibroidsCount, to raise funds and awareness for uterine fibroid research.”

A Necessary Effort

As Lupita suggested, this kind of research is a must for the millions of women who are struggling with fibroids and feeling alone in their pain. By the time they turn 50, at least 70% of women will develop these tumors. But for Black women such as Lupita, the stats are more pervasive: 80% will develop fibroids in their lifetime, often developing larger and more numerous tumors than women of other races, resulting in more severe and disruptive fibroid symptoms.

Struggling with Fibroids? Help is Available

Before closing out her birthday post, Lupita concluded, “My birthday wish is a world where no woman has to suffer through fibroids untreated, undertreated, or unheard. To get there, we need research. And research needs funding.”

We share in Lupita’s birthday wish, but we also want to add that, while research evolves, we need to raise awareness of available treatment options. Unfortunately, many women struggling with fibroids still believe that they will need to have surgery to find relief. But that is simply not the case. Because, while you can remove fibroids surgically via myomectomy, or remove your uterus surgically via hysterectomy, you can also shrink these tumors with Uterine Fibroid Embolization. This is a minimally invasive procedure that relieves symptoms without the need for overnight hospital stays or general anesthesia. You can learn more about UFE and explore your candidacy by requesting a consultation at one of our three Georgia Endovascular locations in the Greater Atlanta area.