Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Fibroids
(continued)

Debunking the Myths, Misconceptions, and Misinformation About Fibroids:

There are several myths about fibroids.  The first is a great relief to debunk: the myth that fibroids lead to cancer.   999 out of 1000 fibroids are not cancerous.  In the 1 out of 1000 cases that become malignant, women are generally over age 50 or their fibroids grow unusually rapidly.  In borderline cases, your doctor may recommend a hysterectomy even if you don't have bothersome symptoms.  Benign fibroids may also grow to be huge, however, sometimes as large as a pregnancy!

Myth:  Fibroids increase your chances of endometrial cancer.  Fibroids are associated with a fourfold increase in the risk of endometrial cancer (cancer of the lining of the womb), but fibroids don't cause this.  The current thinking is that the same factors increase your risk for fibroids that also increase your risk for endometrial cancer.

Myth:  If you have fibroids, you must have a hysterectomy.  This thinking was common in the 1970's when there were 4 times as many hysterectomies performed per year in the US as there are now.  Now we know that even those fibroids that cause bothersome symptoms can often be treated with medicine or a lesser surgical procedure than removing the uterus entirely.  We also know that fibroids generally shrink in size after menopause.  With the advent of uterine-sparing surgical techniques and the use of lasers, we have greater ability to remove just a fibroid without removing the entire uterus.  This is of great importance to women with fibroids who want to be able to become pregnant.

Myth:  If you have fibroids, you can't become pregnant.  Fibroids can prevent pregnancy in certain patients, but the majority of women with fibroids will never even know that they have them.  Most often, fibroids are incidental findings when a woman has an ultrasound test for another reason.  In some patients, however, fibroids may cause miscarriages or other obstetric complications, depending upon the fibroid's size and location, and whether the pregnancy is a singleton or a multiple.  Occasionally, doctors will recommend removing a fibroid during pregnancy (myomectomy).  More commonly, doctors will recommend a myomectomy to patients who have had previous complications of pregnancy as a result of their fibroids.

Myth:  Birth control pills can "treat" fibroids or reduce fibroid size.  There is no evidence that this occurs.  Some patients with heavy bleeding, however, may notice a decreased amount of menstrual blood loss when on birth control pills.  The theory behind the use of low dose birth control pills in the treatment of fibroids-especially among perimenopausal women-is that they decrease hormonal fluctuations during the menstrual cycle, and this may decrease their stimulatory effect on fibroid growth.  Birth control pills are quite useful in the treatment of endometriosis, another very common condition causing pain and bleeding and stemming from the lining of the uterus, but quite different from fibroids.