Oscar-winning actress Lupita Nyong’o has revealed she is facing a recurring battle with uterine fibroids, twelve years after her initial diagnosis.
Speaking on the TODAY show, the 12 Years a Slave star disclosed that her health struggles began in 2014, the same year she won her Academy Award.
Nyong’o described the “high high” of her professional success being met with the “low low” of a medical crisis involving heavy bleeding and pelvic pain. Although she underwent surgery at the time, she was warned that the condition could return. A decade later, she confirmed she is once again living with the condition, noting she now has “double the amount of fibroids”.
The actress expressed frustration over the lack of progress in women’s healthcare, noting that she is being offered the same limited choices today as she was in 2014: major surgery or living with the chronic pain. She specifically urged women to seek second opinions and not to accept a hysterectomy as a “first resort”.
To combat the “shame” and isolation often associated with reproductive health issues, Nyong’o has launched the Make Fibroids Count campaign. The initiative aims to secure investment for scientists to research less invasive treatment methods while encouraging women to share their experiences to end the trivialisation of the condition. Using the common medical practice of comparing fibroid sizes to fruit, she revealed that her largest was the size of an orange, a provocative analogy that helped other women “lay their burdens down.”
Nyong’o argued that because the condition affects up to 80% of women by age 50, it should no longer be dismissed as a normal part of life to “fight through.”
On the professional front, the actress confirmed she will star in the upcoming Christopher Nolan-directed film, The Odyssey, scheduled for release this summer.
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