MAY 2023 THE VOICE
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9
News Feature
increased fibroid risk’
SPECIALIST: Dr Annabel Sowemimo, far left, says that fibroids in Black women could be linked to a diet containing high oestrogen levels, cultural practices and low vitamin D levels; left, West End star Beverley Knight has had fibroids removed
giants to stop using the dangerous chemical, which can even be found in products which claim to have no lye, but still harbour harmful hydroxides including calcium hydroxide and lithium hydroxide. Dr Annabel Sowemimo, a specialist in sexual and reproductive health, told The Voice that there could be multiple reasons as to why statistics point towards why Black women are disproportionately impacted. “A lot of our data comes from the US with those prevalent statistics, and we do think it relates
here [in the UK] because we do see a lot more Black women with fibroids in our practice,” she explains. “So, this could be due to a range of reasons. There may well be a genetic component to why there’s more of a high rate of fibroids. “More recently, there was a study done that looked at the use of relaxers, which we know is a practice that lots of Black women globally utilise to keep their hair straight due to standards around beauty, what is professionalism.”
Dr Sowemimo says that fibroids in Black women could be linked to a diet containing high oestrogen levels, cultural practices and low vitamin D levels commonly found in people with darker skin and “wear and tear” on the body due to racism. She adds: “There’s other people [researchers] that have looked at things like the concepts of weathering and allostatic load [the body denigrating], which is how stress related circumstances can also lead to people having higher risk of certain diseases that’s looked at in relation to things like blood pressure and stroke. And people haven’t really underpinned how that would work necessarily in relation to fibroids.” Despite the prevalence of the issue, Black women say they are also battling to get appointments with their doctors and their symptoms of fibroids are often ignored or misdiagnosed — which is putting their health at risk. Natalie MeaganBlake, 39, is a duty manager in the leisure industry from West London, who lives with both fibroids and adenomyosis. She was also diagnosed with its “sister” condition endometriosis — a long-term full body disease where the tissue which is similar to the lining of your womb grows in other places around the body. The condition affects people of all ethnicities, but research has shown Black women are 50 per cent less likely to be diagnosed than white women.
A total of 190 million people have the disease globally and on average it takes eight years to be diagnosed. Ms Meagan-Blake, who is of Bajan, Jamaican and Irish heritage, told The Voice she believes her background has played a part in how she has been treated by medical professionals. She says she’s constantly demanding further scans and investigations into her health and is not listened to. She said: “On a day-to-day basis, it’s difficult, I’m constantly sending emails and making phone calls to be heard. “If I didn’t push for an MRI after my last surgery they wouldn’t have found what they
The 39-year-old says she felt like doctors did not actually “see her” but just saw a Black woman and assumed her pain threshold was much higher than that of a white woman. “They look at you like you’re ok, you are a strong Black woman, you have got this, you don’t need pain killers,” she said. Dr Christine Ekechi, a Consultant Obstetrician & Gynaecologist, believes that patients who are Black women struggle to access appointments and therefore see delays in their diagnoses. However, she warns people need to be “careful” with how we frame race disparities around this issue. “Black and Asian people are
They looked at me as a Black woman and made the assumption that ‘she’s got fibroids’ have found now – which has led to I need to have another surgery ASAP.” Ms Meagan-Blake revealed she has been forced to change her GP three times. She said: “In my early thirties that’s when the race played more of a part in me being diagnosed. “They looked at me as a Black woman and made the assumption that ‘she’s got fibroids.’” Ms Meagan-Blake said this assumption did not take into consideration her other symptoms or the fact that her mother — who is white — also suffers from endometriosis.
more likely to live in areas that have limited GPs. So therefore, they will have difficulty getting access to their GP to then mention the symptoms they’re having, rather than people that live in rich areas,” she says. “What causes difficulty in access is more about deprivation and class. Then, when we’re looking at lower class and lower deprivation, Black and Asian people are over represented in those areas.” Black and ethnic minority women are more likely to develop larger sized fibroids, however, it is unclear why and makes treatment options for the
conditions limited, says Dr Ekechi. A hysterectomy is often the last and most drastic option for fibroid treatment which is the removal of the uterus. There are three main types of fibroids including submucosal fibroids which can cause heavy, irregular bleeding, a swollen abdomen and even infertility. For Ms Meagan-Blake, who also has polycystic ovary syndrome, she says her fibroids are not “growing dramatically,” but can’t predict the future of her condition. The women’s health advocate has had four surgeries related to her reproductive health and is expected to have a fifth one later this year. Ms Davis lives with the constant fear of how her fibroids diagnosis may begin to impact her as they grow in size. Dr Ekechi says women of all ethnicities struggle to be believed by health professionals about their reproductive health, but says that more research into why fibroids are more likely in Black women can only be funded from what “creates the biggest noise from the public sector”. For both Ms Davis and Meagan-Blake, they want the Black community to be persistent in asking questions if they feel something is not right. Ms Meagan-Blake added: “Ask for your medical records, some things are written in your medical notes that you don’t get told in your appointments. Ask for your surgery notes and if they take photos get those pictures.”
