Part 2
After scouring the internet for information, Cheynie learned it is estimated that 70-80% of women will develop fibroids in their lifetime—however, not everyone will develop symptoms or require treatment.
She concluded not everyone was experiencing the pain that now held her hostage on a monthly basis. She spent more and more nights like this one where she shifted from position to position, applying heating pads and praying she would at least get an hour or helpful sleep before trudging through another day of hiding grimaces from the shooting pains.
Cheynie peeked at her phone again and it read 4:38 a.m. She had to use the bathroom for the third time in one night. She considered taking a pillow and sleeping bag into her tub so she could easily get up during the night without much effort.
She climbed back into bed hoping to find a comfortable position to get another hour or so of sleep. She wasn’t sure how she was going to make it into work. While up, she logged onto her healthcare app to see if her OB-GYN had any availability to see her. Thankfully, there was an 8 a.m. appointment. Since she couldn’t get comfortable enough to get back to sleep, she decided on a long, hot shower before her appointment.
As she stood under the water, she rubbed her protruding abdomen. Lately, it seemed like she was gaining weight even though she had been so diligent about her diet. The rest of her body reflected her time in the gym but her stomach would still billow out as if she was bloated or suffering from a food baby. It was starting to make her self-conscious. She made a mental note to ask her doctor about weight gain associated with fibroids.
Once inside, Cheynie nervously paced back and forth in her gown. She had been in plenty of doctor offices in the past and usually saw her OB two times a year, sometimes three if she experienced more pain than normal. Dr. Webb walked in wearing a blue blazer over black wide-leg pants. A white blouse with multi-colored buttons hung slightly longer than her blazer. Her curly hair was cut shorter than last time and looked as if it had been colored a pretty auburn brown.
“Dr. Webb, I love the hair. Where’s your white coat?”
“Oh, thank you. I decided to try something new on my TWA. So many of my patients have complimented it. As for my coat,” Dr. Webb shrugged and smiled making the creases around her eyes more pronounced, “I just spilled coffee all over it. Gotta love Wednesdays. But tell me about you. What brings you in so early today? I thought my 8 o’clock canceled, but I got a notice this morning that it was filled.”
“I couldn’t sleep. I’m in so much pain.”
“Fibroids bothering you again?”
“Probably the worse they’ve ever been.” Cheynie sat down on the exam table. The paper rustled loudly as she scooted back to lie down.
“Let’s take a look and see if anything has changed. I’m going to do an ultrasound first this time.” Dr. Webb moved Cheynie’s gown to the side while a nurse came in to help set up the equipment. She pressed down on Cheynie’s stomach with her eyebrows knit together.
“I’ve seen that face before. What’s going on?”
“Well, I immediately noticed that your stomach looks swollen. I know how diligent you are about your fitness so I know this isn’t the result of too much pizza. Do you feel pain when I press here?”
Cheynie let out a small yelp as Dr. Webb pressed down.
“What about here?”
Cheynie nodded and winced from the pain.
“Okay, let’s see what we have here.” The nurse turned the lights down in the room and after the doctor squirted the cold jelly onto her abdomen, she began moving the probe back and forth.
“Yeah, it’s as I thought. Your fibroids have grown in size and count.”
“What? How? What does that mean? Can I have kids? Are they cancerous?” Cheynie started spewing off questions rapidly, not waiting for the doctor to answer. “Is that why I have to pee all the time? My periods are still extremely heavy too. Is there something I’m doing?”
The nurse turned the light back on and Dr. Webb began wiping the gel off of Cheynie’s stomach.
“All very good questions Cheynie. There is no exact answer as to how or why fibroids grow. As you know, black women are more susceptible but the theories behind why have not been proven. It could be stress or even environmental. Some have even said it’s related to the use of chemical relaxers in our hair.”
Cheynie groaned, covering her eyes with her arm. “Why would that not surprise me? The one thing black women used to be more acceptable in society is the same thing that is causing defects in their body. Conspiracy theory anyone?”
Dr. Webb cleared her throat before continuing on. “Regardless, it can be extreme and even require surgical removal.”
“Surgery?” Cheynie shot up on the exam table. “Are you saying that I may need surgery?”
“Why don’t you put your clothes on and we can discuss your options in my office.”
