Adebimpe Alafe: Five Months Later, What Fibroid Awareness Month Means to Me

Adebimpe Alafe's story is a stark reminder that fibroid awareness goes beyond just naming the condition. It's about acknowledging the crushing fatigue, the invisible symptoms, and the way fibroids can drain a person's life force before anyone, including the sufferer, realises the gravity of the situation. Five months have passed since Alafe shared her experience of living with fibroids, and the impact of her words still resonates with many women who have struggled to connect their exhaustion to a name and a cause.

Alafe's piece highlights the cultural norm of normalising period pain and dismissing it as something to be managed quietly. We talk about cramps and bloating, but the exhaustion that has no name remains unspoken. This unspoken language perpetuates a cycle of silence, where women are discouraged from discussing their discomfort with doctors until it becomes unbearable. The result is delayed diagnosis and treatment, leaving many women to suffer in silence.

The numbers are stark: Black women are two to three times more likely to develop fibroids than white women. They tend to get them earlier and experience more severe symptoms. Some estimates suggest up to 80% of Black women will have fibroids by age 50. These statistics are not just numbers; they represent real women, living with the invisible symptoms of fibroids, waiting for someone to take them seriously.

Alafe's story reveals the weight of silence that women carry when dealing with fibroids. We have been taught to associate strength with silence, to treat discomfort as something to carry alone rather than something to bring into the light. But strength, Alafe is learning, can also be about speaking out, about demanding attention and care for our bodies. By sharing her story, Alafe is part of a growing movement that seeks to break the silence surrounding fibroids and advocate for better support and resources for women.

Fibroid Awareness Month, which took place in July, is a crucial step towards raising awareness about the condition. However, awareness is just the first step. What comes next is more critical: permitting ourselves to take fibroids seriously long before they become a crisis. This means having real conversations with doctors, asking questions, and seeking help when we need it. It means breaking the silence that surrounds fibroids and demanding better care and support for women living with the condition.

As we move forward, I predict that we will see a growing movement of women speaking out about their experiences with fibroids. We will see more women advocating for better support and resources, and we will see a shift in the way fibroids are perceived and treated. It will not be easy, but it is necessary. We owe it to ourselves, to our mothers, and to our daughters to break the silence surrounding fibroids and to demand better care and support for women living with the condition.