Fibroids: The Silent Pandemic (Part 2)

Sadly, women have been combating hemorrhaging since Bible days and navigating the tumultuous emotional, physical, sexual, and even financial toll it takes on the woman suffering. This ailed woman may try several different solutions to figure out which one best fits her lifestyle while still undergoing all the effects of excessive bleeding from tumors like fibroids and polyps.

One physical effect is anemia, which can cause exhaustion, headaches, irritability, and loss of appetite. Anemia can be treated by taking iron supplements or eating food with iron and B12 vitamins. When anemic, the body becomes deficient in iron and needs more of it to replenish red blood cells that are being expelled at a great rate. If too much blood has been lost, there may even need to be a blood transfusion. Additionally, constant physical discomfort can accompany the bleeding, such as cramps, nausea, and back pain.

The emotional component of this experience is vastly rooted in the fear of the unknown. Not knowing how much blood will ultimately be lost before a solution is found. Not knowing if there will be an accident while out in public. And on top of the not knowing, the embarrassment, anxiety, and frustration associated with the aforementioned symptoms.

Sexually, the constant bleeding can damper a woman’s view of her attractiveness, thwarting those intimate moments with her partner and, depending on where the tumors are located, even hindering fertility.

Financially, the woman is racking up costs with frequent visits to her local drug store and stocking up on feminine hygiene products. But the more extensive expenses occur with medical bills from doctor visits and procedures.

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Tracy Ly experienced all the previously mentioned effects. As young as 22 years old, Tracy had a fibroid the size of a baseball and a cyst the size of a pineapple, resulting in a rock-hard abdomen. She proceeded to have a myomectomy which, unfortunately, only failed to remove the fibroid because it protruded into her uterine wall. At her physician’s request, she took a contraceptive to shrink the fibroid to allow for proper removal, only to find that the medication did not work, and she was now out of $1500 in out-of-pocket expenses that were not covered by insurance. This was just the beginning of Tracy’s journey to healing. It was also the beginning of hearing that she would not be able to have children.

After another surgery, the fibroid was only partially removed and then grew back at lightning speed. Tracy sadly reports, “I sometimes question whether he (the surgeon) even tried to remove the fibroid because afterward, my nonexistent symptoms took a drastic turn.” Tracy was now overcome with cramping that worsened with every passing month. This eventually did a number on her mental health and led her into depression. Still, she sought a solution only to come up short in Nashville and South Carolina. She finally moved to South Korea, where she was told that their doctors wouldn’t be able to give her the care she required, but the bleeding through her clothes and the pain increasing every month became unbearable. In addition to that, she was experiencing substantial blood clots. “They were the biggest clots I had ever seen,” she says, reflecting. “But when I tell my story I always have to talk about my spirituality and how God was building me up through this journey…He sent me so many angels along the way.”

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One of those angels was a young woman she met on a train in South Korea, who she confided in about her issue of blood. This same woman had recently had a myomectomy and encouraged Tracy to meet with her doctor. She did meet with him, and he referred her to his mentor, Dr. Yoon of Cha Hospital who was more skilled for the kind of surgery she needed. Dr. Yoon finally gave Tracy the relief she was looking for but there was still a journey ahead, resulting in two more surgeries.

In 2016, a large fibroid grew back in Tracy’s uterus, and she was again told she couldn’t conceive children. Still, after a total of five surgeries, miscarriages, and various hardships from this experience, Tracy gave birth to a baby boy on her birthday within a year after her last surgery.

“Do not settle for a recommendation for a hysterectomy,” says the five-time myomectomy patient. “Take the time to research and find skilled doctors who have been blessed with healing hands.”

In the upcoming article, much-needed next steps will explore medical options for fibroid elimination so that others can have the same victorious outcome that Tracy did.