In March 2024, while the world applauded Lupita Nyong’o for her latest Academy Award win, the celebrated actress was quietly dealing with a personal health crisis. Behind the red carpet glamour, Lupita was recovering from surgery to remove uterine fibroids, a condition that affects millions of women, especially Black women, yet remains widely misunderstood and underdiscussed.
What are uterine fibroids, and why are they serious?
Uterine fibroids are non-cancerous growths that develop in or around the uterus. They can range from the size of a pea to as large as a melon. While medically considered benign, they often cause severe health issues such as heavy menstrual bleeding that may lead to anemia, frequent urination, pelvic pain, and even pregnancy complications.
For Lupita, the journey was more than physical; it was also emotional and educational. After her surgery, she asked her doctor if there was anything she could do to prevent the fibroids from returning. “I asked my doctor if there was anything I could do to prevent the fibroids from recurring,” she shared in a social media post on Tuesday. The response was disheartening: recurrence was inevitable.
Why is fibroid awareness especially urgent for Black women?
Lupita expressed deep concern over how fibroids are rarely talked about, despite affecting “8 out of 10 Black women.” She pointed out how pain is often normalized in women’s health from an early age. “When we reach puberty, we are taught that periods mean pain, and that pain is simply a part of being a woman,” she said.
It wasn’t until she began speaking about her experience privately that she realized how many women were silently suffering too. “We are struggling alone with something that affects most of us.”
Determined to break the silence, Lupita is now using her platform to advocate for systemic change. “We must reject the normalization of female pain,” she said. Her vision includes better education for teens, improved screening, increased funding for prevention research, and less invasive treatment options.
She has taken this mission further by collaborating with U.S. congresswomen and senators to introduce a package of uterine fibroid bills in Washington, D.C. “This bill would expand research funding, increase early detection and interventions for uterine fibroids, as well as study the causes of uterine cancer and increase awareness,” she said.
By Risper Akinyi
