Living Well Black applauds Senator Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE) and Congresswoman Yvette D. Clark (D-NY-9) for introducing four bills designed to improve uterine health and raise awareness about uterine fibroids and uterine cancer. Up to 77% of women will develop fibroids before menopause. Fibroids can have life changing symptoms like severe pain, heavy bleeding, miscarriages, and infertility. Unfortunately, more than 80% of Black women (compared to 70% of white women) develop fibroids before menopause and — and Black women report experiencing more severe symptoms that begin at younger ages. Despite causing significant pain, heavy bleeding, and complications with conception and pregnancy, fibroids receive very little funding for research, education, support, or the development of new treatments. Black women also are two times more likely to die of uterine cancer. Recently, the safety of hair extensions became a concern when the organization Consumer Reports found carcinogens and endocrine disruptors in 9 out of 10 braiding hair brands tested.
The “Uterine Health Legislative Package” includes these bills aimed at addressing this important issue:
- “The Stephanie Tubbs Jones Uterine Fibroid Research and Education Act” supports further scientific and patient-related research into the causes and treatments for fibroids.
- “The Uterine Fibroid Intervention and Gynecological Health Treatment (U-FIGHT) Act” authorizes grants to improve early detection and treatment for uterine fibroids.
- “The Uterine Cancer Study Act” requires the HHS Secretary “to study and report on the relationship between hair straighteners and uterine cancer, particularly among women of color.”
Finally, a “Uterine Fibroid Awareness Month Resolution” is a measure in favor of making July “Uterine Fibroids Awareness Month.”