Fibroid Awareness Month

July is recognized as Fibroid Awareness Month, dedicated to raising awareness about uterine fibroids, a common health issue affecting many women worldwide. Fibroids are non-cancerous growths that develop in the uterus, varying in size and often causing symptoms such as heavy menstrual bleeding, pelvic pain, and pressure on the bladder or bowel. These benign tumors can impact women of reproductive age and, while typically non-life-threatening, they can significantly affect quality of life, fertility, and overall well-being.

About 20 to 80% of women will develop fibroids by the time they reach 50, most common in women in their 40s and early 50s (Uterine Fibroids, 2016).  Fibroids also affect certain groups of women at larger rates. On average, African American women are younger at the onset of fibroids and have larger and more numerous tumors. They are also more likely to have surgical interventions for fibroids. Over the reproductive lifetime prevalence becomes more similar so that by age 49, more than 70 percent of white women and 84 percent of African American women have fibroids documented by imaging or surgical records (Hartmann et al., 2017).

During Fibroid Awareness Month, efforts are heightened to educate women about the signs, symptoms, and treatment options for fibroids. It serves as a crucial time to promote understanding among patients and healthcare providers about the importance of early detection, appropriate management strategies, and the impact fibroids can have on reproductive health. By fostering awareness, advocacy, and support networks, initiatives during this month aim to empower women to make informed decisions about their health and seek timely medical intervention when needed, ultimately improving outcomes and quality of life for those affected by fibroids.

References

Hartmann, K. E., Fonnesbeck, C., Surawicz, T., Krishnaswami, S., Andrews, J. C., Wilson, J. E., Velez-Edwards, D., Kugley, S., & Sathe, N. A. (2017). Evidence Summary. In www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (US). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK537747/

John Hopkins Medicine. (2019). Uterine Fibroids. John Hopkins Medicine. https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/uterine-fibroidss

Uterine fibroids. (2016, December 15). Womenshealth.gov. https://www.womenshealth.gov/a-z-topics/uterine- fibroids#:~:text=About%2020%20percent%20to%2080