Actress Lupita Nyong’o has revealed she has 50 fibroids, with her biggest one the size of an orange.
The Black Panther actress, 42, told the US Today show that her fibroids had returned and discussed her experience with the condition, which causes non-cancerous growths to form on the uterus.
The condition leads to debilitating symptoms, including heavy periods, severe pain, and back and leg pain.
Actress Lupita Nyong’o has revealed she has 50 fibroids, with her biggest one the size of an orange. (WireImage)
“The first time I got the fibroids taken out, they took out 23,” she said on the show.
“And this time, I’ve been informed two years ago that I have over 50.”
“And I’m being faced with the same options,” she added. “Surgery or live with the pain.”
The actress first discovered she had the condition in 2014. She says she is faced with the same options now, which include an invasive myomectomy to remove the growths.
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The Black Panther actress, 42, told the US Today show that her fibroids had returned. (Getty)
“I’m not ready to make that decision,” she shared. “It’s quite invasive… and it’s a big threat to our reproductive organs,” she said.
The other option is a hysterectomy.
She added that her biggest fibroid was the size of an orange, explaining that doctors use fruit as a size comparison.
“Your fibroid could be the size of a grape. My biggest fibroid is the size of an orange.”
She said speaking out about her condition has made her feel empowered and less alone. (GC Images)
The Oscar-winning actress said speaking out about her condition has helped her feel less alone.
”I’m excited right now because speaking up has really empowered me,” she said. “I’ve found community. I’ve locked arms with women who have been fighting this fight for a long time.”
“There’s a lot of power in speaking up,” she added.
“I spoke up and the amount of support I got hearing women say ‘me too’ and share their stories made me feel less alone and it’s honestly what has bolstered me to do the work that I do now.”
She is advocating and raising money for better research into ways to treat fibroids in non-invasive ways.
She also took to Instagram today, sharing a similar message and announcing she is partnering with the Foundation for Women’s Health to “launch a research grant funding scientists who are developing less-invasive treatments.”
She is advocating and raising money for better research into ways to treat fibroids in non-invasive ways. (Getty Images for Comic Relief)
“Last July, I ended a decade-plus of suffering in silence and publicly shared my diagnosis for the first time.”
“Women worldwide responded with their own stories. I felt less alone, and more convinced than ever that this is not something we should accept.”
“There’s something deeply wrong when a condition this widespread is this poorly understood. Do you accept this as the status quo? Neither do I,” the post read.
The actress has previously spoken out about her condition, frequently calling for early education for teenagers, better screening protocols and more research to find less invasive treatments for fibroids.
“Eight out of 10 black women and seven out of 10 white women will experience fibroids. Yet we speak so little of them,” she said in an Instagram post last year.
Nyong’o said women were conditioned from the start of puberty that “periods mean pain and that pain is simply part of being a woman”.
She said she decided to share her condition during Fibroid Awareness Month.
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