While the age of information may be upon us, there’s still an alarming amount of misinformation out there, which isn’t good when it comes to your health.
For some time, Dr. Ulas Bozdogan and our team at Advanced Endometriosis Center have been leading specialists in endometriosis and uterine fibroids, and we’ve heard more than a few pieces of misinformation.
In this month’s blog, we’re going to tackle some of what we’ve heard about uterine fibroids to set the record straight. After all, knowing what you’re up against is half the battle.
As far as reproductive health issues in women, uterine fibroids are among the most common. In fact, 40-80% of women develop uterine fibroids, usually between the ages of 30-50.
When you hear the term abnormal growth, which is what uterine fibroids are, you might automatically assume they’re related to cancer. The good news is that fibroids are usually not cancerous and are, instead, benign growths inside your uterus.
If you’re wondering why there’s such a large spread in the number of women who have uterine fibroids — 40-80% — it’s because millions of women have fibroids and are unaware they even exist.
In other words, these stats are an educated guess, as many women go through life with fibroids, but they’re undiscovered because there aren’t any symptoms.
When fibroids become problematic and lead to symptoms, these symptoms can include:
Some of these symptoms develop when a fibroid becomes large — they can grow to the size of a grapefruit, sometimes larger. In other instances, size isn’t the factor, but the change in the uterine environment is, and can lead to issues like heavy bleeding during periods.
There are several risk factors for uterine fibroids, such as family history, but a strong one is being overweight or having obesity. Nearly three-quarters of Americans are either overweight or have obesity, and those extra pounds can lead to a wide range of health issues.
So, it seems we can add uterine fibroids to the long list, as women who are carrying excess weight are 2-3 times more likely to have fibroids than women in healthier weight ranges.
Treating fibroids almost always comes down to whether they’re symptomatic and if those symptoms are issues you’d like to change.
For example, uterine fibroids can complicate pregnancy — women with fibroids are six times more likely to have a Cesarean section. So, many women come to us to have Dr. Bozdogan remove their fibroids through an advanced robotic myomectomy.
Or, for women dealing with disruptive menstrual cycles thanks to uterine fibroids, we can turn to medications and hormones to improve symptoms.
The bottom line is that many women go through life with uterine fibroids, where the growths stay in the background and don't present any issues. When they do, however, we want you to know that we offer great solutions.
If you have more questions about uterine fibroids or you’d like to explore your treatment options for these common growths, we invite you to click here to schedule an appointment at one of our conveniently located offices in New York City or Paramus, New Jersey.
