Originally appeared on E! Online
Lupita Nyong’o is getting candid about her health.
After spending more than a decade admittedly “suffering in silence,” the Oscar winner opened up about her struggles with uterine fibroids, non-cancerous growths that develop in or around the uterus.
“In March 2014, I won an Academy Award. That same year, I discovered that I had uterine fibroids,” Lupita began in a July 15 Instagram post. “30 fibroids. I had surgery to remove them. I asked my doctor if I could do anything to prevent them from recurring. She said: ‘You can’t. It’s only a matter of time until they grow again.'”
The 42-year-old said she did not realize that the condition affects so many women until she started talking about her experience “privately” with her inner circle.
“When we reach puberty, we’re taught periods mean pain, and that pain is simply part of being a woman,” Lupita shared. “We’re struggling alone with something that affects us most.”
READ: Sharon Stone Says She Was Misdiagnosed After Doctors Find Large Fibroid Tumor
She continued, “We need to stop treating this massive issue like a series of unfortunate coincidences. We must reject the normalization of female pain.”
That’s why the “Black Panther” actress said she’s working with U.S. congresswomen to introduce a package of bills that will “expand research funding, increase early detection and interventions for uterine fibroids, study the causes of uterine cancer, and increase public awareness.”
“I envision a future of early education for teenagers, better screening protocols, robust prevention research, and less invasive treatments for uterine fibroids,” she wrote. “Let’s study women’s health and prioritize this chronic condition that has never been comprehensively examined.”
Lupita added, “We deserve better. It’s time to demand it. Silence serves no one!”
Uterine fibroids can develop in all women of reproductive age, though Black women are “more likely to have fibroids than are people of other racial groups,” according to the Mayo Clinic. While many uterine fibroids don’t have any symptoms, complications can arise and cause heavy and painful periods, pelvis pressure, urination problems, infertility and pregnancy loss.
In the comments section of Lupita’s post, many of her friends threw their support, with Kerry Washington writing, “Brava Lupita. This is so brave and so beautiful.”
“This is such important info to share,” Halle Berry wrote, with Amber Ruffin adding, “Next time I see you, I’ll tell you a truly bonkers fibroids story!”
