On 30th September we teamed up with Black History Walks to help organise a Queen Nzingha Lecture on fibroids. The Queen Nzingha lecture series is a regular event developed by Black history Walks and is a series of lectures delivered by black women with expertise in a particular topic. It aims to achieve three things: give black professional women a platform to discuss their area of expertise; give audiences the opportunity to learn about a specific topic; and provide a forum to debate topical issues.
We were delighted to be asked to help organise the most recent event which focused on fibroids. This was a great opportunity to raise awareness and also give women affected by fibroids the opportunity to learn more about this condition, share their experiences and meet other women with fibroids.
On the day we were delighted to have an interesting agenda which included an overview of fibroids by Abi Begho of The Lake Foundation, a really inspiring presentation by Amanda Epe on her personal experience of fibroids and finally a presentation by Dr Sydney Dillard on treatment options.
We were extremely happy with the level of interest in this event, an astonishing 616 people registered and 220 attended which meant there was an extremely long waiting list so we are going to organise this event again.The interest in this event really demonstrated what an important health issue fibroids are. On the day the majority of women who attended had fibroids or had fibroids in the past and their questions and comments revealed a need for more accurate information, support and research into the area.
Many women commented on the poor quality of care in the UK, the fact that they didn’t feel well-informed about their condition and that they didn’t feel that there were given many options when it came to treatment. Additionally there was a lot of interest in more natural ways of managing fibroids – modifications that can be made to a women’s diet and lifestyle to manage symptoms and reduce risk. Additionally there were many questions about herbal remedies. This is an area we are going to look into so we can provide evidence-based information on the use of herbal remedies for fibroids.
Abi Begho, Founder of The Lake Foundation
The event also, to a certain degree, acted as a forum for attendees to receive peer support. Many women said to us it was nice to meet other women with fibroids and share experiences, with one attendee saying:
“Since being diagnosed I have felt very isolated sitting at home crying about my situation. It has helped to know that actually I am not alone and there are others going through what I have been going through. Today I have been able to meet so many women with fibroids and it’s really helped.”
This event reinforced the need for our organisation to continue its work in this area and we will continue to provide information on fibroids and develop our programme of information, support and awareness.
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