Opinion: Uterine fibroids affect millions of women. Why has this condition been overlooked for decades?
In 2007, the late Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D-Ohio) wrote an op-ed calling for passage of her bill to increase research funding and public education for uterine fibroids. She stressed the need for “new and better ways to treat or even cure uterine fibroids.” Fourteen years later, her bill still has not passed and this extremely common gynecological condition remains an overlooked and underfunded public health issue.
Fibroids are non-cancerous tumors that grow in the wall of the uterus. Most American women will develop them at some point in their lives. An estimated 26 million Americans have fibroids, and of those, about 15 million suffer from debilitating symptoms, including heavy menstrual bleeding, intense pelvic pressure or pain, bladder problems, and fertility issues.
