Month after month, many women organize their lives around pain. They pack extra clothes because heavy bleeding from tumors growing in the uterus can begin without warning. Meetings are rescheduled, trips postponed, and cramps sharp enough to steal focus are endured in silence. For some, these growths develop quietly and remain undetected for years. For others, they press into daily life, disrupting sleep, intimacy, work, and fertility plans. Yet despite how widespread fibroids are, there is still no guaranteed cure. Instead, most women are offered management plans and a familiar reassurance from the gynecologist: let’s monitor it.

Then, on her recent birthday on March 1, Lupita Nyong’o transformed the celebration into advocacy. She revealed that over her lifetime, she has carried 77 fibroid tumors. Twenty-five were removed through surgery, and more than 50 remain. In a striking image, she held 77 fruits to symbolize each growth, and publicly shared her MRI. Her message was clear and unwavering: fibroids may be common, but they are not normal, and women deserve better options.

That declaration, in turn, opened a larger conversation about uterine health, research gaps, and why women’s pain is still treated as routine.

What Happens When a Woman Has Fibroids in the Uterus?

Fibroids are noncancerous growths that develop in or around the muscular wall of the uterus. Physicians often describe their size by comparing them to fruit. In Lupita’s case, some were as small as blueberries, while the largest reached the size of an orange.

For many women, symptoms include:

• Very heavy periods lasting longer than a week
• Severe cramping and pelvic pressure
• Frequent urination
• Pain during intimacy
• Fatigue caused by blood loss

However, not everyone experiences symptoms. Some women carry fibroids for years without noticeable disruption. That unpredictability is part of the problem. When discomfort becomes routine, it is often dismissed as “just part of being a woman.”

Moreover, many endure years of unexplained pain before receiving a diagnosis. Lupita described seasons of losing dangerous amounts of blood each month while suffering in silence for over a decade. Unfortunately, that silence is not unusual. It reflects a deeper cultural pattern: women’s pain is frequently normalized instead of investigated.

What Causes Fibroids in Uterine Tissue?

Despite their prevalence, researchers still do not point to a single clear cause. Hormones such as estrogen and progesterone influence fibroid growth, which helps explain why they commonly appear during reproductive years.

Genetics also plays a role. If a mother or sister has fibroids, the likelihood increases.

Race is another significant factor. Black women are more likely to develop fibroids, often at younger ages and with more severe symptoms.

However, when a condition affects millions and scientific clarity remains limited, the issue extends beyond biology. It becomes systemic. And that brings us to research.

And that brings us to research.

The Research Gap: Why Women’s Health Remains Underfunded

During a recent television appearance alongside Lupita, Katy Brodsky Falco of the Foundation for Women’s Health highlighted a sobering reality: women were excluded from federally funded medical research in the United States until 1993. Even today, only a small fraction of national research funding is dedicated specifically to women’s health, despite women making up over half the population. Meanwhile, an estimated 26 million women in the U.S. are currently living with fibroids.

The disconnect is difficult to ignore. If a condition impacts such a large portion of the population, why are treatment options still limited? Why is a hysterectomy so frequently introduced early in the conversation?

Importantly, this funding gap extends beyond fibroids. Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) also remains under-researched. It affects hormone balance, menstrual cycles, and fertility, while increasing the risk of diabetes and heart disease. Yet many women wait years for a diagnosis because their symptoms are minimized or misunderstood.

When funding stalls, innovation slows. And when innovation slows, patients are left managing symptoms rather than accessing breakthroughs.

Fibroids Treatment: Why Options Are Still Limited

Currently, fibroid treatment often centers on symptom management. Medications may control bleeding or temporarily shrink growth. Hormonal therapies can help, although side effects vary. In some cases, doctors recommend procedures to block blood flow to fibroids.

However, these approaches frequently target symptoms rather than root causes. Lupita has spoken candidly about how quickly a hysterectomy can be positioned as a solution.

Through her #MakeFibroidsCount campaign, she is funding research aimed at expanding less invasive and noninvasive treatment options. As of late 2025, the Foundation for Women’s Health received hundreds of research proposals, with dozens focused specifically on fibroids. In its first year, the organization distributed $1 million in grants and plans to award $5 million in 2026, partly to offset federal funding cuts affecting women’s health research.

That kind of targeted investment could significantly reshape the future of fibroid care.

Fibroid Removal vs. Hysterectomy: Understanding the Difference

Importantly, fibroid removal does not automatically mean removing the uterus. A myomectomy removes fibroid tumors while preserving the uterus, making it a critical option for women who wish to maintain fertility.

A hysterectomy, by contrast, removes the uterus entirely. While medically necessary in certain cases, it is a major surgery with permanent consequences. Lupita has emphasized that it should not be presented as the automatic first solution without discussing alternatives.

Ultimately, decisions about fibroid surgery should be individualized, informed by age, symptom severity, overall health, and personal goals. Yet many patients report feeling rushed into irreversible choices without being offered the full spectrum of options.

If research expands, options will expand. That is the core of Lupita’s advocacy.

Is It Safe to Live With Fibroids?

This is one of the most searched questions online, and the answer depends on symptoms. Some women live with small fibroid tumors that cause minimal disruption. In those cases, doctors may recommend monitoring growth over time.

However, leaving large or symptomatic fibroids in the uterus untreated can lead to serious complications. Heavy bleeding can cause anemia. Pressure on surrounding organs can affect bladder and bowel function. In certain cases, fertility can be impacted.

Lupita described enduring seasons of constant pain and losing dangerous amounts of blood each month. Her story illustrates that while fibroids are noncancerous, they can still take a major toll on quality of life.

Final Thoughts

Fibroids reveal more than a medical condition. They expose funding disparities and a cultural tendency to downplay women’s pain. When a disorder affecting millions still lacks robust treatment innovation, it signals a broader imbalance in research priorities.

For too long, fibroids have been framed as a routine part of womanhood. Lupita’s story disrupts that narrative by pairing vulnerability with action. She is not asking for sympathy; she is demanding progress.

Women living with fibroids should never be expected to suffer quietly. Women’s health should not be treated as secondary. It deserves sustained attention, serious funding, and scientific urgency.

If awareness leads to earlier diagnoses, expanded treatment options, and more thoughtful surgical decisions, then storytelling becomes part of healing. As her campaign reminds us, we cannot improve what we refuse to measure.

The fruits in that basket were symbolic. The burden they represented, however, is profoundly real.

Featured image: Emma Summerton

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