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Breast and pelvic exams
Today, on an average about 20-30% of women develop fibroids. By the time women reach their age of 50s, about 80 out 100 women are likely to develop fibroids. Fibroids are nothing but growths or tumors which are made up of muscle cells and other tissues. These tissues grow within the wall of uterus. They could also grow on the inside or on the outside of the uterus. Fibroids are also sometimes referred to as tumors. However, they are mostly non-cancerous. Fibroids could vary in size. They could also be as small as a pea or as large as a small melon. Many women are not aware when they have them.
Women who are in the stage of childbearing are also likely to develop fibroids. It has been proved that African-American women are at a higher risk for developing fibroids. It has also been shown that they tend to get fibroids at an earlier age than other groups. Also there is a slightly higher risk for women to develop fibroids. This can happen if they are overweight. However, if you have had a child, the risk could be lower.
Fibroids do not cause any symptoms often. This is the reason why most women do not know that they have them. The symptoms could also be mild. The fibroids could be large enough to press on organs. They could also start affecting and interfering with your life. Some other symptoms could include a long gushing period and cramping to a very large extent. Sometimes, women can feel a sense of fullness in belly. Women can also get low back pain. Sometimes they could also get an urge to urinate very often.
If you have fibroids and if you get heavy bleeding during period, it could lead to anemia. Anemia results from lack of iron in blood. When you are suffering from anemia, it can make you weak and tired. Having fibroids may sometimes make it very difficult for you to become pregnant. They could also cause problems during pregnancy. This could be leading to miscarriage or premature labor.
There are some theories relating to this and according to researchers it may be a result of many factors which are interacting with each other. The factors could be hormonal, environmental, genetic, or even a combination of all the factors. What causes the fibroids is not known however. Researchers also do not know how fibroids grow or shrink. Most of the time, these shrink after menopause. However, this might not be true in all the cases. Fibroids are diagnosed usually after taking a history of complaints which are faced by the patient. After that breast and pelvic exam is done. The doctor will measure the size of your uterus and sometimes ultrasound is also done.