Doctor Urges Fibroid Patients To Aid Research

A Gynaecologist at the National Hospital Abuja, Dr  Augustine Umezulike, has urged women with fibroids to volunteer themselves for research in order to find the causes.

Umezulike said in Abuja on Tuesday that “there are no known causes of the fibroid tumour, so women who have fibroids should volunteer themselves to doctors who are doing research in order to find out the cause.

“We the doctors can only treat fibroids; unless the causes are known, you can’t know how to prevent it.”

According to Umezulike, the commonest symptom of a fibroid is a swelling or growth which a woman might notice in her abdomen.

He suggested that if such a woman also noticed a boost in the quantity of her urine and an increase in her regular menstrual flow, she should see a doctor immediately.

“She should not just do a scan or an ultrasound; instead she should see a doctor for a proper examination and advice.”

The gynaecologist explained that fibroids were an abnormal mass of tissues resulting from excessive and uncontrolled cell division in the womb, though non-cancerous.

He said that black women, particularly those menstruating but were not yet pregnant, were most prone to it and noted that about 25 per cent of the womenfolk had fibroids growing inside them.

“It is common among the black women, but it differs in size, shape and the accompanying problems.”

Umezulike said that since the womb was designed to carry something, preferably a baby, it might as well carry a fibroid where there was nothing to store.

He added that fibroids could also affect parts of the large intestine and the bladder by putting pressure on them, resulting in frequent urination.

The doctor explained that depending on the location and size of the fibroid, it could interfere with fertility and possibly cause miscarriage and premature birth.

“If it is close to the mucous membrane that is essential for maintaining pregnancy and conception, it can cause an abortion.”

Umezulike said fibroids could be shrunk using certain drugs but advised that the best treatment was to operate on and remove them if they were causing severe pains.

He, however, noted that fibroids which had been shrunk using drugs could resurface when medication stops.