2 days ago
Venus Williams Opens Up About Her 30-Year Fibroids Journey
Collage: Self; Source images: Venus Williams, Paper Whistle, anlomaja
With four Olympic gold medals, seven Grand Slam titles, and over $42 million in prize money under her belt, Venus Williams is one of the most successful athletes in history. But behind closed doors, she has been fighting a painful battle for decades that far too many Black women know well: uterine fibroids.
'I remember playing my first French open, at the time I was 16,' Williams shares with SELF over Zoom from her home in Florida. 'Before the second round, I was waiting for my match and I was just hugging the toilet bowl. I was losing my lunch over period pains.'
But who would have guessed? Just moments prior—adorned in an iconic silver getup, her braids covered in white beads—Williams was on her A-game, defeating Japan's Naoko Sawamatsu in the first round of the 1997 tournament.
'Those are the things behind the scenes you don't see,' she says.
For as long as she can remember, the now 45-year-old tennis star has had painful periods—one of the most common symptoms among women who suffer from fibroids, or noncancerous growths in or on the uterus that can cause heavy menstruation and intense discomfort. Yet Williams can't even recall getting a formal diagnosis. 'I think I just kind of diagnosed myself,' she shares. While her gynecologist eventually confirmed that she did, indeed, have fibroids in 2016, her pain was treated as a routine side effect of the condition. 'They would tell me we'll just watch it,' she shares. The only treatment option made available to her was a hysterectomy, and Williams held off.
Williams was never offered any other clear pathway to finding relief—even as the agony from her fibroids was getting worse. By her mid-30s, she says, she was taking prescription pain killers to find some sort of ease.
'I had those pills with me everywhere,' Williams says. 'I could never be caught anywhere without my pain pills. Getting caught in that kind of pain is a disaster.'
Beyond the physical pain from her fibroids, the mental anguish took a toll as well. Williams's periods became so heavy that anywhere she went, she would have to pack extra pads, tampons, fresh underwear, and a change of clothes. 'It was always an 'accident run' to the bathroom,' she remembers. 'At times you're like, Oh my God, I have to clean my pants. You have to take them off at a restaurant, wash them out—crazy stuff. That's not normal.'
By 2024, Williams knew it was time to advocate for herself—something her previous doctor never seemed to do, although she shares she has no interest in placing blame anywhere. The women's health space was revolutionizing: New models were popping up that made care more accessible and inviting. (Think easy-to-navigate millennial-friendly women's medical startups like Tia and Midi.) One day while scrolling Instagram, Williams saw an ad for a fibroid clinic that detailed promising treatment options for women just like her, which made her realize that she had options. The times were changing.
Eventually Williams found Taraneh Shirazian, MD, a board-certified gynecologist and director of the Center for Fibroid Care at NYU Langone. 'It was amazing for me because I was able to talk to someone who felt confident that they could treat me,' Williams says.
Unlike many medical professionals in the US, Dr. Shirazian takes a holistic, personalized approach to fibroid treatment, viewing it as a chronic ailment that needs continuous care rather than something to vaguely monitor—or, on the other hand, treat with a one-and-done surgery. As part of her model, Dr. Shirazian also looks at how the condition affects other aspects of a patient's life, like fertility and general discomfort.
For Williams, this led to a more comprehensive diagnosis: The athlete learned that she also had an adenomyoma, which meant in addition to her fibroids, the lining of her uterus was growing into her uterine wall.
'I was the first person to ever tell her [of the condition],' Dr. Shirazian tells SELF. 'I could tell when I said it that she never heard about the adenomyoma before, and when you hear something for the first time, you need time to really understand it, think about it, and come to terms with what you want to do.'
Williams shares that while it felt good to be informed, she left the office terrified. 'For the first time in my life ever, [I thought,] Why me? Why do I have to [go through] this?'
There were a few courses of treatment Williams could take, according to Dr. Shirazian: Uterine-sparing surgery, which would remove the fibroids but leave the uterus in place, would be the best option, though radiofrequency treatments could also help shrink the fibroids and relieve some pain. Though trepidatious, Williams opted for the surgery. 'Surgery completely removes disease,' the gynecologist explains. '[Venus] had been suffering for all that time. Obviously we always need to be monitoring, but given her personal history, her symptoms, and again, just with that eye on what would be good for her specifically, we arrived at that conclusion.'
'I just remember I went into the [operating room] and I started to get a little afraid again,' Williams recalls. '[Dr. Shirazian] held my hand and I was out. I don't remember much after that, but I remember she held my hand, and that meant so much.'
The surgery took place in July 2024. It was a success, and Williams had no complications. Within a day or two, she was up and moving around. By day 30 of her post-op recovery, she fully felt like herself again—just without the excessive bleeding and pain.
At last, after decades of suffering, Williams felt relief—within just three months of meeting Dr. Shirazian. 'I went through a lot, and you would imagine that I would have access to the best health care—and I did. But I still didn't have the best health care [until I went to NYU],' Williams shares.
With anywhere from 40% to 80% of people with a uterus being likely to develop fibroids by 50—with Black women three times more likely to get them, and get them at a younger age compared to white women—Williams's hope is that sharing her story will encourage others to seek the help they may not realize they need.
'As a patient, you have to be your own advocate,' she explains, noting the serious flaws in the US healthcare system. 'If you don't know what's wrong with you in the first place, you never even know to bring it up.'
But being aware of what's happening with your body and having the ability to advocate for yourself, especially as a Black woman, is only half the battle. A 2022 Pew Research Center study found that 55% of Black Americans 'have had negative experiences with doctors.' A 2024 study found that 58% of Black women, in comparison to 44% of Black men, believe that the country's health care system was designed to hold them back. Of course, this is all happening in the context of our medical establishment's racist history: For many years, the US carried out nonconsensual medical experiments on African Americans, which may also lead to lingering distrust today.
Dr. Shirazian hopes to remedy as much of this as she can through working with grassroots organizations in the Black community. The MD currently partners with The White Dress Project, a patient advocacy group that raises awareness about uterine fibroids through education and research. 'They share information on doctors and hospitals to go to who are giving good services and good care [throughout the country],' Dr. Shirazian says.
By being one of the few MDs in the country taking a true holistic approach to fibroid treatment—from providing personalized care to bridging the knowledge gap by working with local organizations—Dr. Shirazian hopes that other medical facilities will follow her lead. 'Sometimes that's how you get bigger institutions to sort of take notice,' she shares. '[Our approach is] innovative and revolutionary, and whatever we can say that helps [other doctors] understand that these are priorities, that's my goal.'
It's now been a year since Williams's surgery. She is happy and fully free from the pain that took over her life for nearly 30 years. But most of all, she wants to make sure this isn't any other woman's story. 'Make sure you have a doctor that believes in you and that you believe in [them], that's important,' she says. 'You don't have to settle at all.'
Related:
Jennie Garth on Having Hip Replacements at 48 and 52: 'I No Longer Want to Hide Things'
Jamie-Lynn Sigler Was in Denial of Her MS for 15 Years: 'If I Didn't Talk About It, It Wasn't Real'
What to Do If Your Doctor Isn't Taking Your Period Pain Seriously
Get more of SELF's great service journalism delivered right to your inbox.
Originally Appeared on Self
