Following the success of Nollywood actress, Halima Abubakar, in having a surgery to remove fibroid from her body over the course of the week, another Nigerian celebrity, cosmetics guru, Toyin Lawani, has decided to join the enlightenment campaign by sharing her own story and personal battle with the disease which plagues a lot of women.
According to her, she has had three tumours removed from belly already, and still hasn’t won the battle yet as her doctors have informed her of a regrowth. In her words:
“I wear my scars with pride, fibriod is a deadly disease, a lot of people are ignorant about it, I did the surgery and took 3 massive fibriods out. Got news today that they are all back, my back pains and leg pains have started again. Over bleeding when I’m on my period and what I’m going to do about the recent findings… Final solution to the problem was.Not Easy but with God all things are possible”
The list of celebrities who had gone under the knife also include ace video director and film maker Kemi Adetiba, who also some time ago shared how she survided the battle, making the very significant observation of how many women out there don’t have enough information about the scourge of the disease and how to deal with it. She shared:
“I battled with an extreme case of Fibroids in secret for many years. When I say extreme, I mean EXTREME. From being rushed to the ER where the intense PAIN wouldn’t even allow me cry, to being dangerously close to death because of anaemia, to the physical changes, the mental and emotional roller coaster it takes not only YOU, but your loved ones privy to the information….It’s amazing how many women live with this everyday yet have NO information on how to get better, or manage the symptoms pending surgery. Even with all the resources available to me, it was difficult making the right choices. I had one doctor in NY tell me that I would have to take out my ENTIRE womb, that my case was THAT bad….I won’t talk about anything other than MY experience….Even post-surgery is another wahala, but I’m fully healed now and it’s like I have a new lease on life!….I kept quiet about it initially as it was a very personal experience that forced me into an extremely fragile mental and emotional space”
You’ll agree with Celeb Police that these celebrity voices sure amplify the need for more enlightenment on this silent scourge amongst women. Others who have experienced same should be encouraged by these stories to share theirs too to create more awareness and understanding for the plight of women going through stuff like this.
Fibroids are non-cancerous (benign) tumors that grow from the muscle layers of the uterus (womb). They are also known as uterine fibroids, leiomyomas, or myomas. They can vary from the size of a bean to as large as a melon.
Research shows that fibroids affect at least 20 percent of all women at some point in their life. Women of reproductive age are the most likely to develop them. Also, overweight and obese women have a significantly higher risk of developing fibroids, compared with women of normal weight. Heredity may also be a factor; women whose close relatives have had fibroids have a higher risk of developing them. There is also some medical evidence that red meats, alcohol, and caffeine could increase the risk of fibroids. While on the other hand, an increased intake of fruit and vegetables might reduce the risk.
Information they say is critical, right?
