Up to 80 percent of women can develop fibroids by the time they’re 50, and the non-cancerous growths are more common in Black Americans. While some women can have fibroids without any symptoms, others can have varying symptoms. Chronic pain and heavy bleeding can have a devastating effect on your quality of life if you’re dealing with the worst symptoms. For Lupita Nyong’o, this has been her reality for decades, and she recently revealed that her fibroids got even worse.
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Lupita Nyong’o’s Fibroid Journey So Far
Although most women don’t develop fibroids until their 30s and 40s, there’s no age limit on when you can start dealing with the condition. For Nyong’o, she got her diagnosis of uterine fibroids in her early 20s and opted to undergo surgery to remove them at 23. At the time, doctors removed 30 fibroids of varying sizes from her uterus.
When discussing her surgery, though, Nyong’o’s doctors noted that in some cases a myomectomy–the surgery that removes fibroids–only gives temporary relief. They warned that her fibroids may return over time. In a recent interview with the Today show, the actress revealed that she’s dealing with a resurgence of her fibroids.
Twenty years after her first surgery to remove 30 of the growths, Nyong’o is now dealing with 50 of them. According to her imaging tests, the largest fibroid is the size of an orange. Once again, she is facing the same choice she was given in her 20s: surgery or continued pain and bleeding.
Although the treatment options remain the same, Nyong’o states that she hasn’t decided on the way forward yet. Generally, she can either have another myomectomy or undergo a hysterectomy, where she removes her uterus entirely. As she noted in 2025, a lot more work needs to be done when it comes to women’s reproductive health. In the meantime, though, she’s still weighing her options.
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Why Some Women Choose a Myomectomy
Choosing between a myomectomy and a hysterectomy generally depends on different factors. You may choose to have a myomectomy if you would like to have children in the future and if your symptoms are moderate to severe. Your fibroids should also be located in areas that are accessible for this type of surgery. Some people simply want to keep their uteruses for personal or cultural reasons.
You also have a few options when considering a myomectomy. In an abdominal myomectomy, you would have a conventional open surgery where an incision is made in the abdomen, and the surgeon would remove the fibroids. In a hysteroscopic myomectomy, the surgeon goes through the vagina and cervix to remove the fibroids. This is a less invasive surgery than an abdominal one.
A laparoscopic myomectomy is a less invasive type of surgery to remove fibroids. In this procedure, the surgeon would make small incisions in your abdomen and insert special equipment to navigate the process of cutting into the uterus and removing fibroids. Based on the size of the incisions, your doctor may not recommend this option if your fibroids are too large.
It’s important to note, though, that a myomectomy is usually considered a way to manage fibroids as opposed to curing them. Since the uterus is still in place, the fibroids can still return.
Where a hysterectomy is concerned, this surgery is best for women who are done having children. Doctors are more likely to recommend a hysterectomy for persons whose symptoms are severe enough to affect their quality of life. If you’ve had a myomectomy before and your fibroids returned, a hysterectomy may be a better option. Additionally, a hysterectomy may be the best option if your fibroids are large or other treatment options have been ineffective.
At this moment, doctors consider a hysterectomy to be the only permanent cure for fibroids. While you can also have an abdominal, hysteroscopic, or laparoscopic hysterectomy, the recovery from a hysterectomy tends to be longer than that of a myomectomy. It’s also important to note that both procedures can have complications.
A myomectomy has a lower risk of complications, but you can have bleeding, a reaction to anaesthesia, and develop scar tissue that can affect future pregnancies or childbirth. In rare cases, you may need a hysterectomy depending on what your surgeon finds. The complications of a hysterectomy include bleeding, a reaction to anaesthesia, blood clots, severe infection, and injury to nearby organs like the bladder or bowel.
RELATED: Hysterectomy: What It Is, Side Effects & Recovery
Why do Fibroids Return After Surgery?
Even though fibroids affect millions of women, there is still a lot that doctors don’t know about what causes them. While you may have a higher chance of developing them if you’re overweight, Black, or have a family history of the condition, those aren’t definitive causes. The same is true when it comes to determining why fibroids may return after a myomectomy.
However, doctors say that certain factors may influence the likelihood of your fibroids returning. If you have numerous fibroids, developed fibroids at a younger age, and specific types of fibroids, you have a higher risk of recurring fibroids. For example, intramural and submucosal fibroids are more likely to return.
Intramural fibroids grow within the uterus’s muscular walls and are the most common type of fibroids. They have the potential to grow quite large. Submucosal fibroids grow in the endometrium and can either develop individually or grow in clusters. Both of them can cause heavy bleeding, bleeding between cycles, and pain.
To complicate matters, there is no set time for fibroids to return. Some women have had them return within months, while others didn’t see a re-emergence of their symptoms until a few years had passed. That’s usually why doctors often recommend scheduled monitoring for those who have undergone a myomectomy.
Signs You Should Talk to Your Doctor About Treatment Options
As noted previously, some women have fibroids without noticing any significant symptoms. However, once you see any changes in your menstrual cycle, it’s best to talk to your doctor. These symptoms may start slowly before getting worse over time as the fibroids get larger or grow in number.
Some of the signs to look out for include heavier periods, periods that last longer than usual, increased pain, and bleeding in between periods. You may also experience persistent pelvic and lower back pain that worsens during menstruation. If you’re having heavy bleeding, you may also develop anemia, which can cause fainting, chronic fatigue, and shortness of breath.
It’s a good idea to talk to your doctor about fibroids early, as this may give you more treatment options. The larger and more numerous they become, the more likely it is that you’ll need an invasive procedure to treat them.
Faced with multiple fibroids in your 20s, Lupita Nyong’o chose to have them removed. Twenty years later, the fibroids have returned and are even worse than before. While she hasn’t decided what to do yet, it’s a reminder that every woman needs to be aware of her body and talk to their doctor immediately if she has any symptoms of fibroids.
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