Whenever I get together with a group of girlfriends, our conversation ranges through many things. Men, Relationships, Finances, Reality TV are popular subjects we discuss. Lately, I find myself in ciphers with women giving their first-hand accounts or stories about someone they know who has fibroids. The subject has connected women who never thought they would have anything in common. Discovering that you are not going through this excruciating battle alone cancels out the uncommonality you think is between you and another female. Fibroids is a subject that unites women together.
What are fibroids? Where did they come from? The most common type of fibroid is called a uterine fibroid. It is a benign (not cancerous) tumor of a woman’s uterus. Fibroids develop with the uterine wall or attach to it. They may grow as a single tumor or in clusters. Uterine fibroids can cause excessive menstrual bleeding, pelvic pain, and frequent urination. Fibroids start in the muscle tissue of the uterus. They can grow into the uterine cavity, into the thickness of the uterine wall, or on the surface of the uterus into the abdominal cavity. Although these tumors are called fibroids, this term is misleading because they consist of muscle tissue, not fibrous tissue.
It is estimated that 40 percent of African-American women suffer from fibroids before menopause. Doctors speculate that African-American women are more likely to develop fibroids because of the tendency to keloid in which scar tissue is formed. Fibroids are really a muscular sort of scar growth within the wall of the uterus. As puzzling as this is, doctors feel this is why African-American women are more likely to develop fibroids than other groups.
The big debate amongst African-American women when discovering they have fibroids is surgery vs alternative methods. I know women who’ve had surgery that was a successful outcome and others the outcome wasn’t and resulted in a full hysterectomy. Most doctors prefer to perform a hysterectomy because it is easier for them to remove the entire uterus. African-American woman need to do their research extensively when opting to get surgery to remove the fibroids. There are other options available that should be discussed and evaluated before making a hasty decision to go under the knife. Does diet play a role in African-American women getting fibroids? Some experts say yes. Elev8.com will continue to discuss fibroids and its impact on African-American women. How can we prevent getting them and what can we do to become healthier? What new innovative methods are available for African-American women to take control of fibroids? Is there hope? Do you or someone you know have fibroids? How are you dealing with them? Surgery or alternative methods?
Read more: http://elev8.com/health/fibroids/klkinkaid/fibroids-and-the-african-american-woman/#ixzz0qyr8jumI
