“Did  you know that Uterine Fibroids represent the single-most prevalent benign condition that a woman faces…in our nation??”
This was the exact sentance that I penned in last weeks blog, but it took my husbands kind and caring sensibilities to query my use of the word benign (when talking about ‘this condition’) for me to actually see!’ And, omylanta, is he ever correct…benign, forsooth!!!

Lets see. Benign is defined as: kindly; good-natured; favorable; beneficial…and in medicine:  doing no harm, not malignant.

I can remember that fateful day when, as if my eyes had been fitted with special lenses, every normal object in that room changed.  These were eyes and lenses  that de-focused (blurred) everything around me, except for the crystal-clear-clarity of my doctors mouth, slow-motioning the words, “Yooouuu hhhaaavvvee aaaa bbbeeeeniiigggnn tttuuummmooorrr — aaaa fffiiibbbrrroooiiiddd!”

I get it, I do — fibroids are NOT cancer — for that I am truly truly grateful!! But!!! Fibroids are NOT kindly!! Fibroids are NOT beneficial!! Fibroids are NOT good-natured!! Fibroids are not favorable!! And, forheavensake, fibroids are NOT harmless!! Fibroids are in NO way benign, forsooth!!
Fibroids altered and changed my world in unimaginable ways…and so too has this ferocious fiend negatively influenced millions upon millions of ‘unsuspecting’ women! Benign, ha, bah humbug!

A Fibroid can cause so much pelvic pressure that the constant need to urinate (every 15 minutes) does not allow you to participate in a normal day…this, in NO way sounds benign to me!!
A Fibroid can cause so much bleeding that anemia is ‘normal’ and ruined sheets, chairs (seats) and pants are also the  ’norm’…this, in NO way sounds benign to me!!
A Fibroid can grow (and grow) and cause so much bloating, that wearing a tailor-styled pair of pants can be so extremely painful that it overcomes you, ending up in a ball of moaning sweat…this, in NO way sounds benign to me!!
A Fibroid can cause a woman to have a pregnancy ended abruptly, or never ever allow her to have a pregnancy at all. Fibroids cause all kinds of fertility issues…this, in NO way sounds benign to me!!
A Fibroid(s) is a huge expense for women in both time and dollars.  And all treatment options are not often discussed by their OB/GYN or, they are not always insured…this, in NO way sounds benign to me!!
My (ferocious-fiendish) fibroid was not covered by insurance, as they claimed that it was a pre-existing condition!! So the ten horrific years that I spent trying to preserve my uterus (not to mention my sanity) cost me a grand total of $30,000…this, in NO way sounds like a benign condition to me!! $30,000 out-of-pocket dollars is beyond comtemptable to avoid a hysterectomy…no friends, this is in NO way a  benign condition!!
A fibroid is a painful lump (at best) and a horror-story that changes your life forever (at worst)!! So when your mother, sister, aunt, neice or daughter tell you that they have been diagnosed with a  BENIGN  fibroid, give them a huge huge compassionate hug and understand,  that THIS is  not a ”harmless” condition!!
Fibroids, forsooth!!!