To commemorate her 43rd birthday, Lupita Nyong’o posted a photo of herself holding a basket filled with fruits. Each fruit, she revealed, represented each fibroid she has endured.
The Academy Award-winning actress, known for roles in “Black Panther,” “12 Years a Slave,” and “Queen of Katwe,” recently opened up about the return of her uterine fibroids in an appearance on “Today,” where she shared that one was as large as an orange. The movie star said that in 2014, she had 23 fibroids removed, and now, she has over 50.
On Instagram today (Mar. 1), Nyong’o delved into the meaning of the photo and made a plea to spread awareness of the noncancerous tumors, which affect 70% of women by age 50. For Black women, it’s estimated that 80% will experience fibroids in their lifetime, often at a younger age, and with more severe symptoms.
“I have endured seasons of constant pain, losing dangerous amounts of blood each month, and suffering in silence,” she wrote. “In this image, I’m holding 77 fruits, as a symbol for each fibroid, to make visible the weight that I, and millions of women like me, carry every day.”
The shoot is a part of a larger campaign for the Foundation for Women’s Health to encourage research into more noninvasive procedures to remove fibroids. Right now, methods to remove fibroids include a myomectomy or even a hysterectomy.
Nyong’o also made a special birthday wish, encouraging her followers to donate to fibroids research.
“My birthday wish is a world where no woman has to suffer through fibroids untreated, undertreated, or unheard. To get there, we need research. And research needs funding.”
