Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o has opened up about her experience with uterine fibroids, shedding light on the condition while calling for greater attention to women’s pain.
In a post on Instagram, the 42-year-old actor said she had surgery to remove 30 uterine fibroids in 2014.
“In March 2014 I won an Academy Award,” she wrote.”That same year I discovered I had uterine fibroids – 30 fibroids. I had surgery to remove them.”
“I asked my doctor if I could do anything to prevent them from recurring. She said, ‘You can’t. It’s only a matter of time until they grow again’.”
Uterine fibroids are non-cancerous growths that develop in or around the uterus. They can range from the size of a pea to a melon.
In her post, Nyong’o wrote that uterine fibroids can cause heavy menstrual bleeding, anemia, pelvic pain, frequent urination and complications in pregnancy.
“8 out of 10 Black women and 7 out of 10 white women will experience fibroids,” she said. “Yet we speak so little of them.”
Nyong’o went on to say that women’s pain has become normalised, and we must do more to bring attention and funding to women’s health issues and research.
“When we reach puberty, we’re taught that periods mean pain, and that pain is simply part of being a woman.”
“This Fibroid Awareness Month and beyond, I hope my experience will resonate with anyone else who has ever felt dismissed, confused or alone. And I hope to seek answers for the far too many women dealing with uterine fibroids. We deserve better. It’s time to demand it. Silence serves no one!” she wrote in the caption.
This week, Nyong’o joined US congresswoman Yvette D Clarke to support the introduction of a legislative bills that would advance uterine health initiatives.
“These bills would expand research funding, increase early detection and interventions for uterine fibroids, study the causes of uterine cancer, and increase public awareness,” she said.
She has also launched a partnership with the Foundation for Women’s Health for a Uterine Fibroid Research Grant.