Former KPRC 2 morning anchor Taniya Wright talks about her fibroid and myomectomy experience.
She's been to three doctors in two states and just had the procedure during COVID-19.
On YouTube, she reveals how she found out there was a problem and what it was like taking care of it during the pandemic.
Here is a partial transcript of Wright's video which addresses this important medical issue:
UPDATE JULY 21, 2020
Taniya Wright talks about surgery recovery
I first discovered I had a fibroid when I lived in Raleigh, North Carolina. I went for my yearly doctor's appointment and I was slightly anemic and she did my exam. And as I mentioned, said my uterus was the size of a 14 week pregnancy. I didn't know what to think about that. I wasn't pregnant. So she told me she wanted to send me for an ultrasound to see what was going on.
After that ultrasound, she called me with the results and she told me I have a fibroid. I had no idea what a fibroid was, of course. Like most people, I grabbed my computer and I Google it and I learned that a fibroid is a tumor that grows inside of a woman's uterus. Totally freaked me out. So she also told me that they can range in a lot of different sizes from the size of a tiny seed to the size of a melon. My fibroid was seven centimeters, which is pretty big. It is the size of this Mac compact. So I have something this size growing inside of my uterus right now. I didn't really know what to think.
So I asked her what this all meant. What were my options? Do I have to get it removed? Does it go away? I had no idea. She said there is a surgery option, but since I wasn't actively trying to get pregnant or I haven't tried to get pregnant and had difficulties, she said, to just monitor it for now. And they would check me again in a year when I get my next appointment.
A year goes by before I know it, I get another ultrasound and she tells me my fibroid is still seven centimeters, which is good news. It has not grown. It's still seven centimeters. But then she really started asking me if I did want to have children because again, I'm in my mid thirties. I need to start thinking about that. I was about to move out of state for a new job. So at that time, I wasn't thinking about children. I was getting ready for a move. So I kind of just pushed this to the side. You know, life gets in the way, work gets in the way. So many things happen and just get in the way. And a lot of us just push our health to the backburner, which I was doing. So I moved to Houston and I didn't want to start any job and be like, "Hey, it's my first day. I might need surgery. I need to take six weeks off work," because that's how much time they told me. My doctor in Raleigh told me the recovery would be if I did, in fact, have to get surgery for this.
So I blink and another year goes by. It's time to get my yearly doctor appointment. Schedule my appointment with my new doctor here. And I told her going into it, I did have a fibroid. I knew about it. And could you just check it and see if it grew? See what my options were now at this point. It's been a few years. I got an ultrasound here and she told me my fibroid is still seven centimeters. But if I do want to have children, I really need to start thinking about getting it removed.
So I went home after that appointment and really thought about it and I figured it's time. I've been dealing with this thing for about three years now. It's really time to take my health and put it in front. Put it first. I needed to really do this for myself. So I asked her the different options about surgeries and she told me she recommended that I get an open myomectomy, which is basically they're giving me a C-section and removing the fibroid because my fibroid is so big that she wanted to make sure she could get it all out and preserve my uterus. So if I did want to have children, it would be the best option.
After telling me her recommendations, my doctor, of course, said you can talk with other doctors and see their opinions or their recommendations on what you should do with this. I've been dealing with this for a few years now, so I've pretty much heard the same thing from each doctor I've spoken to about it. So I finally decided to put my health first and get it done.
