Tanika Gray Valbrun, founder of the White Dress Project, has had a myomectomy, a surgical procedure performed to remove uterine fibroids, or non-cancerous growths in the uterus, three times.
She said her first myomectomy removed 27 fibroids.
According to the National Institutes of Health, at least 26 million women and girls between the ages of 15 and 50 live with uterine fibroids in the United States. Women of different cultures and ethnicities can develop uterine fibroids. However, there is limited research on how uterine fibroids affect Asian, Hispanic, and Indian women. Studies show that 70% of white women and 80% of black women are more likely to develop uterine fibroids by age 50. Black women are also two to three times more likely to develop uterine fibroids, develop larger tumors, and have more severe symptoms.
On Thursday’s “Closer Look,” Gray Valbrun and Linda Goler Brandt, an epidemiologist and president and CEO of Black Women’s Health Imperative, discuss symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment. We had a conversation with Ms. Rose Scott. They also shared why more research and policy changes are needed to examine why Black women are disproportionately affected by this condition.
