NEED TO KNOW
- Lupita Nyong’o revealed that she underwent surgery to remove 30 fibroids in 2014, the year she won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for 12 Years a Slave
- Nyong’o, 42, teamed up with the Foundation for Women’s Health for the FWH x Lupita Nyong’o Uterine Fibroid Research Grant, which will study treatment for the chronic, painful condition
- “I hope my experience will resonate with anyone else who has ever felt dismissed, confused or alone,” she wrote
Lupita Nyong’o revealed that she struggles with painful fibroids — undergoing surgery to have them removed — as she announced a new research grant to fund research on treatment for the common, but debilitating condition.
Nyong’o, 42, first discovered she had uterine fibroids in 2014, the same year she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her debut film, 12 Years of Slave. As she shared in an Instagram post on July 15, she had 30 fibroids and underwent surgery to remove them.
Fibroids are benign but painful tumors in the uterus that can lead to debilitating symptoms. As NYU Langone Health’s Center for Fibroid Care explains, they “can cause heavy and prolonged periods, pelvic pain, and bladder symptoms.”
Nyong’o wrote that she asked her doctor if there’s any way she can prevent them, and was told “it’s only a matter of time until they grow again.” As she pointed out in her post, “8 out of 10 Black women and 7 out of 10 white women will experience fibroids. Yet we speak so little of them.”
Over a younger photograph of herself, the Wild Robot voice actress added the caption, “When we reach puberty, we’re taught that periods mean pain, and that pain is simply part of being a woman.” She shared that once she began “talking about my experience privately,” she realized that “so many women are going through this. We’re struggling alone with something that affects most of us.”
Lupita Nyong’o shared a photo from her youth.
Lupita Nyongo/Instagram
“No more suffering in silence!” she wrote. “We need to stop treating this massive issue like a series of unfortunate coincidences. We must reject the normalization of female pain. I envision a future with early education for teenagers, better screening protocols, robust prevention research, and less invasive treatments for uterine fibroids.”
She ended her photo carousel by urging others to “study women’s health and prioritize this chronic condition.”
The A Quiet Place: Day One star has teamed up with the Foundation for Women’s Health for the FWH x Lupita Nyong’o Uterine Fibroid Research Grant, which will work to develop “minimally invasive, or non-invasive treatments, for uterine fibroids“ to reduce symptoms and improve quality of life for the 15 million patients suffering from this chronic condition in the U.S. alone.”
Nyong’o joined Congresswomen and Senators on Capitol Hill on July 15 to introduce bills that would fund research on the condition. Current treatments include surgery (either removal of the fibroids via a procedure called a myomectomy, or removal of the entire uterus via hysterectomy), freezing, using an electric current on the fibroids, and medication, John Hopkins explains.
“I hope my experience will resonate with anyone else who has ever felt dismissed, confused or alone. And I hope to seek answers for the far too many women dealing with uterine fibroids,” she wrote. “We deserve better. It’s time to demand it. Silence serves no one!”
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