In honor of Fibroid Awareness Month, actress and activist Lupita Nyong’o is using her voice to bring attention to a condition that impacts millions of women yet remains widely misunderstood. In a deeply personal Instagram post, Nyong’o shared her decade-long experience with uterine fibroids, describing the pain, confusion, and silence that often surrounds the diagnosis. 

Fibroids are non-cancerous tumors that grow in or around the uterus. While common, they can cause heavy bleeding, anemia, pelvic pain, and even complications with fertility. Some individuals, like Nyong’o, can develop multiple fibroids at once; in her case, doctors found nearly 30. Despite how widespread the condition is, affecting up to 80% of Black women and 70% of white women by age 50, research into their cause remains limited. 

Nyong’o reflected on her first diagnosis in 2014, the same year she won her Academy Award. What should have been an exciting chapter in her life was overshadowed by physical pain and unanswered questions. Now, ten years later, having been diagnosed again with fibroids, she’s sharing her journey publicly to put her support with Foundation of Women’s Health behind research to find more answers to this disease that affects 26 million women. 

At Fibroid Fighters, we believe stories like Lupita’s are important for raising awareness and inspiring change. Fibroid Awareness Month is a time to have these conversations, educate the public, and advocate for better research, earlier detection, and broader access to treatment. 

To read Nyong’o’s Instagram post, click here.