Fibroids are an overgrowth of the muscle tissue of the womb. They are non-cancerous and also known as uterine myomas, fibromyomas, or leiomyomas. More than one in three women have fibroids, and it occurs in their reproductive years. Fibroids are sheltered in a fibrous shell attached to your womb wall but do not spread to other parts of your body.

Symptoms include heavy menstruation throughout the month, which may result in anaemia. They are likely to cause recurrent miscarriages if they have deformed the cavity inside the uterus. Hence, most of women do not get any symptoms of fibroids. There is no medicine to cure fibroids. However, hormone-based treatments can help relieve the symptoms. For more info, click here.

Last Update: 23 March 2010

by Zanele Matshotyana