Notice to readers
This health article is supplied by WorldWideNewsArticles.com. WWNA provides the latest general and health news, updated hourly, and new articles on health daily.
See WorldWideNewsArticles.com for the list of other currently popular topics available for your reading pleasure and interest. The use of the WWNA site is completely free, and you do not need to subscribe.
Fibroids Can Change The Shape Of The Uterus
Fibroids are almost always benign (not cancerous). Rarely (less than one in 1, 000) a cancerous fibroid will occur. Fibroids are hormonally sensitive so symptoms are likely to be cyclical with menstruation. Fibroids can cause very heavy periods, leading to iron-deficiency anaemia. They don't cause disturbance to the menstrual cycle itself - typically the bleeding is regular but much heavier than usual.
They may be felt during a pelvic exam, but many times myomas that are causing symptoms may be missed if the examiner relies just on the examination. Also, other conditions such as adenomyosis or ovarian cysts may be mistaken for fibroids. Many that are inside the cavity of the uterus ( intracavitary myomas ) will usually cause bleeding between periods (metrorrhagia) and often cause severe cramping.
Fortunately, these fibroids can usually be easily removed by a method called "hysteroscopic resection, " which can be done through the cervix without the need for an incision. Fibroids tend to grow during the years before menopause and then atrophy after menopause. This suggests that estrogen stimulates fibroid growth, but we also know that once they get larger, progesterone too can contribute to their growth.
Uterine fibroids are growths in the womb (uterus). They are made of muscle and other tissue. These affect every woman differently. And even though you need to work with a doctor to treat them, the decision of how�"or whether�"to treat them is a personal one. Uterine fibroids afflict approximately 25 million women in the U.S. Industry sources indicate that 200, 000 - 300, 000 of the 600, 000 hysterectomies performed in the U.S.
Many are benign tumors that are made up of the muscle and connective tissue from the wall of the uterus (womb). They may grow as a single nodule or in clusters and may range in size from 1 mm to more than 20 cm (8 inches) in diameter. Uterine leiomyomata, or fibroids, are benign tumors of the uterus made up of smooth muscle and the extracellular matrix proteins collagen and elastin. They are exceptionally common; the cumulative incidence of a diagnosis of fibroids in women aged 25 to 45 is approximately 30 percent.
Women are living longer and the major killer of women is heart disease, taking 25 times more women's lives than ovarian cancer. Women with fibroids often have longer periods, which may last seven or more days. These periods may be unusually heavy, sometimes requiring a woman to change her pad or tampon hourly.
