Lupita Nyong'o speaks out about painful experience with uterine fibroids. What are they — and who do they affect?

Yahoo

3 days ago

Lupita Nyong'o is going public about her battle with uterine fibroids. On July 15, the Black Panther star took to Instagram to share her story in honor of Fibroid Awareness Month.
Nyong'o revealed that in 2014, the same year she won an Academy Award for her performance in 12 Years a Slave, she was diagnosed with 30 uterine fibroids and underwent surgery to remove them. When she asked her doctor how to prevent them from returning, she was told there was nothing she could do — it was only a matter of time before they would likely grow back.
As Nyong'o explained in the post, uterine fibroids are noncancerous growths in or around the uterus, ranging in size from a pea to a melon. They can cause symptoms like heavy bleeding, pelvic pain and pregnancy complications — though some people have no symptoms at all. Despite affecting eight in 10 Black women and seven in 10 white women, fibroids are rarely talked about.
'When we reach puberty, we're taught that periods mean pain, and that pain is simply part of being a woman,' Nyong'o wrote. However, when the actress started talking about her experience privately, she realized so many women were also suffering.
'We're struggling alone with something that affects most of us. No more suffering in silence,' the post continued. 'We need to stop treating this massive issue like a series of unfortunate coincidences. We must reject the normalization of female pain. I envision a future with early education for teenagers, better screening protocols, robust prevention research, and less invasive treatments for uterine fibroids.'
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A post shared by Lupita Nyong'o (@lupitanyongo)
She left readers with a call to action: 'Let's study women's health and prioritize this chronic condition that has never been comprehensively examined,' she wrote.
The comments section on Nyong'o's post was full of people who applauded her for speaking out.
'Mine were literally making me crazy,' one commenter wrote. 'The pain, the periods, etc. I opted to have a hysterectomy last year, and it's been life-changing.'
Another added, 'Had two surgeries for removal and had my hysterectomy in 10/2023. I could have avoided so much pain with a correct diagnosis when I was young.'
A third shared that she also had surgery in 2021, after she bled for four months consecutively. 'I was in so much pain,' she wrote. 'Thank you for speaking on this.'
And Nyong'o is doing more than just speaking out: In the caption of the post, she said she joined members of Congress on July 15 in Washington, D.C., to introduce a package of bills aimed at expanding research funding, improving early detection and treatment, studying uterine cancer causes and raising public awareness.
One of the lawmakers involved in that effort is Rep. Shontel Brown, who shared a photo with the star on her Instagram and wrote in the caption, 'Honored to stand alongside @lupitanyongo today on Capitol Hill to speak out about uterine health — a critical issue impacting so many women. Silence saves no one. It's time we raise our voices and demand better awareness, research, and care. #uterinehealthawareness.'
Rep. Yvette Clarke and Sen. Angela Alsobrooks posted similar messages on Instagram about working with the actress on this issue.
Additionally, Nyong'o partnered with the Foundation for Women's Health to launch the FWH x Lupita Nyong'o Uterine Fibroid Research Grant, which will fund the development of minimally or non-invasive treatments to help improve quality of life for '15 million patients suffering from this chronic condition in the U.S. alone.'
What are uterine fibroids?
As Nyong'o explained in her post, uterine fibroids are benign tumors that develop in or around the uterus, most commonly during the reproductive years. They don't increase the risk of uterine cancer and rarely become cancerous, but they can vary widely in size and number — from tiny, undetectable nodules to large masses. They are typically discovered with a routine pelvic exam or an ultrasound.
Many people with fibroids don't experience symptoms, but for those who do, symptoms can include heavy menstrual bleeding; painful, long or frequent periods; pelvic pain or pressure; difficulties urinating; constipation; back pain and pain during sex. In extreme cases, uterine fibroids grow large enough to fill the pelvis or abdomen, sometimes causing visible swelling and discomfort and pain.
Maria Sophocles, a gynecologist and sexual medicine specialist at Women's Healthcare of Princeton told PureWow in 2023 that fibroids can 'cause such heavy bleeding that they can make you anemic and can even lead to such severe anemia that you can need a blood transfusion."
How common are uterine fibroids?
Fibroids affect about 40% to 80% of people with a uterus. They are most likely to develop between the ages of 30 and 50, as they're rare after menopause and before puberty, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
Several factors can increase the risk of developing fibroids, including obesity or a higher body mass index, a family history of fibroids and not having children. Starting menstruation at a young age and experiencing menopause later in life are also linked to a higher likelihood of developing them.
How are they treated?
Treatment for uterine fibroids, according to the Cleveland Clinic, often starts with medication to manage symptoms like pain and heavy bleeding. Over-the-counter pain relievers like ibuprofen can help with discomfort, while iron supplements may be recommended if fibroids cause anemia. Hormonal birth control can reduce bleeding and cramps, and other medications — such as some newer oral therapies — can shrink fibroids or control bleeding, though the effects may be temporary.
There are also treatments like uterine fibroid embolization that shrink fibroids by cutting off their blood supply. However, these options may affect the uterus and aren't typically recommended for people who want to have children in the future as they can impact fertility.
Surgery, of the type that Nyong'o had, is also an option to treat fibroids. A myomectomy removes fibroids while keeping the uterus intact. A hysterectomy removes the uterus entirely.
Fibroid pain is not rare — and stars are speaking out
Nyong'o is not the first person to call attention to how women's pain, particularly around reproductive health, tends to be ignored by the medical community. In fact, research shows that women are more likely than men to have their pain attributed to psychological causes, according to a 2019 report from the Washington Post. And a 2025 survey published in JAMA Network Open found that many women with pelvic disorders felt routinely dismissed by their medical teams, who often alleged that the pain was psychosomatic.
Other celebrities are speaking out about having that exact experience. Earlier this month, tennis star Venus Williams also spoke publicly about having painful fibroids in an interview with Today. In the interview, she said her pain was often dismissed by doctors, even when it left her 'laying on the floor in the locker room' before matches. Her persistent bleeding led to anemia, requiring multiple iron infusions, but it took her years to get diagnosed and properly treated by a doctor.
'It just got too bad, and I couldn't handle it,' Williams said. 'I'm sharing now because I was outraged that I didn't know this was possible. I didn't know what was wrong with me. No one should have to go through this.'
In 2022, the musician FKA Twigs shared her experience battling fibroids, telling the Guardian, 'If loads of people have it, why hadn't I heard of it? If this is something that's not a big deal, why is it an actual hell living in my body right now?'
That same year, Entertainment Tonight cohost Nischelle Turner also spoke about having three surgeries to get rid of her uterine fibroids, after years of heavy, painful periods.
'I knew that something was going on, but I didn't know what it was,' Turner told Today in 2022. 'I was actually scared that it could be some sort of cancer because my stomach looked like I was three months pregnant.'