Black women more likely to have fibroids but treatments exist

At a

recent dinner party, I was asked by a friend-of-a friend whether

she could ask me a health question. I generally dislike being asked

health questions in social settings because I often find that the

person asking the question really needs to see a health provider.

It is unrealistic to expect to get the answer to a personal health

question if the health professional doesn’t have your health

history and is unable to perform a physical

examination.

“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana; color: windowtext;”>I

hesitated briefly but agreed to answer her question. She quickly

asked “Why don’t we talk more about how awful fibroids are?” It was

a great question, but before I answered, I wanted to know what she

thought the answer was.

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“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana; color: windowtext;”>Given

her response, it was clearly something that she had thought about.

The woman, who appeared to be in her late 40s, explained in detail

that she believed no one cared about fibroids because it is much

more common in African American women than in other groups. After a

few minutes, I gave her two of the reasons that I believe that

fibroids are not more commonly discussed. One is that although

women may suffer a significant amount of pain and other symptoms

from fibroids, they usually do not lead to death. The second reason

is that many women seem to be reluctant to discuss the symptoms of

fibroids, even among other women.

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As many as

half of all women have uterine fibroids and African American women

are three times more likely to develop them. Fibroids are growths

that develop from the smooth muscle layer of the uterus. Fibroids

are sometimes called tumors; which is technically correct because a

tumor refers to an abnormal growth. However, fibroids are rarely

cancerous.

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Fibroids are

highly dependent on the hormone estrogen, so the size may increase

during pregnancy when estrogen levels are higher and they tend to

shrink after menopause when estrogen levels drop. The size of a

fibroid can range from a small seed to larger than a grapefruit.

There can be multiple fibroids or one single growth and can be

located on the surface of the uterus, in the wall of the uterus, or

in the uterine cavity.

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Although some

women have few symptoms, many women with fibroids experience heavy

menstrual periods, frequent urination and pain in the lower back

and/or pelvis. Bleeding from fibroids can cause anemia and

sometimes fibroids can lead to infertility.

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A doctor can

sometimes detect fibroids during a pelvic exam but an ultrasound is

commonly used to confirm the diagnosis.

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Fortunately,

there are more treatment options available today than 30 years ago

when the only option for many women was a hysterectomy. Treatment

options will vary based on symptoms, age, and desire to conceive.

Some available treatment options for fibroids are-