We recently came across the video below created by BuzzFeed which explores the experience of three women with fibroids. We thought it was an excellent exploration of the impact of fibroids.
Our Thoughts
These stories give viewers an insightful look at the impact of fibroids and highlighted some of the same issues raised in a recent book of short stories that we read, Invisible Not Imaginary by the Barbados Association of Endometriosis and PCOS.
The women bravely discuss heavy menstrual bleeding, anaemia, painful periods and their concerns about fertility.
As we watched the video, what struck us was the way in which all three women continued with their daily life despite their symptoms and seemed to almost normalise them until they could no longer bare it. The reason why they did this, as articulated by one of the women, was the expectation that women should pretty much ignore their own health and wellbeing, press on and continue with all their many obligations.
Another issue that was raised was recurrence, which is very common and can be quite frustrating for women who, after their initial surgery, will have moved on with their life and have put their experience of fibroids behind them. Having to deal with fibroids once more can be devastating.
The video ends with some useful tips and advice from each of the women based on their experience. Participants encouraged women to:
- Prioritise their health,
- Seek help as soon as they notice symptoms that don’t seem right
- Be informed about fibroids
- Reach out to family and friends and talk about what you’re going through
Final Thoughts
We thought this video was a really effective way of raising awareness of fibroids and its impact. It identified areas that need to be addressed. These include the need for:
- Greater awareness of the symptoms of fibroids
- Greater awareness of what normal/abnormal periods are
- Less pressure to be placed on women to try to continue as normal when they feel unwell
- Research on whether lifestyle changes may reduce a woman’s risk of having a recurrence after treatment
- More research to understand the prevention of fibroids
- More research to confirm the incidence and prevalence of fibroids, particularly in black women
More Information
For more information on fibroids, you can:
- Visit our fibroids blog and fibroids news sections
- Read through our My Fibroid Story section
- Read through the highlights of our fibroids Twitter chats
- Send a question to our Fibroids Ask the Expert panel
- Listen to our fibroids podcast interviews
