Fibroids: "New" Options, Not Enough Answers

For the past year and a half, I have overseen the Network's health information service, the Women's Health Voice. During this time I have become quite familiar with the subject of uterine fibroids, benign lumps of muscle and tissue that grow in and around the uterus. A quarter of the health requests we receive deal with fibroids and/or hysterectomy. Since the traditional way to treat fibroids is to have a hysterectomy (surgery to remove the uterus), the two have unfortunately become intertwined. Between 2000-20014, fibroids were one of the three conditions most often associated with hysterectomy. It is no surprise that women with fibroids often contact us to learn about alternatives to hysterectomy. (1) Since fibroids main[y affect women in their 30s and 40s, treating fibroids while preserving both the uterus and fertility is important to many of the women who call the Network. (2) The U.S. history of hysterectomy highlights why so many women seek information from the Network. Between 1965-1984, hysterectomy was one of the most frequently performed major surgical procedures. The number of hysterectomies peaked in 1975 at 725,000 annually. (3) In 2000, approximately 633,000 women had a hysterectomy, 90% of which were performed before the woman began menopause.' Hysterectomy is the second most frequently performed surgical procedure on U.S. women, after Cesarean sections. By age 65, 37% of all U.S. women will have had a hysterectomy. (5)