CNN
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Oscar-winning actress Lupita Nyong’o is sharing about her experience of being diagnosed with uterine fibroids, using the opportunity as a call to action on Capitol Hill.
Nyong’o wrote on her Instagram page Tuesday that in 2014, the same year that she won an Oscar for “12 Years a Slave,” she “discovered” that she had 30 uterine fibroids and underwent surgery to remove them.
“I started talking about my experience privately, and I realized so many women are going through this,” she wrote. “We’re struggling alone with something that affects most of us. No more suffering in silence!”
Uterine fibroids are non-cancerous muscular tumors that grow in the wall of the uterus, according to the Office of Women’s Health. Symptoms can be severe and may include heavy menstrual bleeding, painful periods and stomach pain.
According to a report by the National Center for Biotechnology Information, Black women are three times more likely to develop fibroids than white women.
Nyong’o wrote in her post that in light of July being Fibroid Awareness Month, she wanted to share her experience, saying she hopes it will “resonate with anyone else who has ever felt dismissed, confused or alone.”
Also on Tuesday, the “Quiet Place: Day One” star appeared on Capitol Hill with Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke to help introduce a legislative bill package that they hope will advance uterine health initiatives, according to a news release.
The four bills they introduced “would expand research funding, increase early detection and interventions for uterine fibroids, study the causes of uterine cancer, and increase public awareness,” Nyong’o wrote in the caption of her Instagram post.
“In 2014 at the age of 31, I received my uterine fibroid diagnosis and was offered only two options: invasive surgery to remove them or live with the pain,” she said in a statement. “I envision a different future: one with early education for teenagers, better prevention and screening protocols, robust research, and less invasive treatments for uterine fibroids.”
Nyong’o also announced that she is launching the FWH x Lupita Nyong’o Uterine Fibroid Grant in partnership with the Foundation for Women’s Health. The grant will fund medical research of uterine fibroids, according to the foundation’s official website.
“I hope to seek answers for the far too many women dealing with uterine fibroids,” Nyong’o said Tuesday. “We must reject the normalization of female pain.”
