Prince George’s County bills aim to empower and protect women with fibroids

“Fighter” and “survivor” — words often used to describe women like Kym Lee-King, who are diagnosed with fibroids.

“My husband found me in the garage. I was laying in a pool of blood, and I was bleeding profusely, and that’s what happens with so many women,” she told News4.

Lee-King was diagnosed in 2014 and felt embarrassed by the discovery.

“From 2014 to 2017, I ignored them, and they grew profusely,” she said. “They grew from 3-4 to 12, and I had fibroids as big as melons all the way down to the size of probably pea-size, so they varied in size, they varied in location.”

Fibroids aren’t cancer, but are solid tumors that form in the uterus. Symptoms can vary and take the form of anything from a heavy period, longer or more frequent periods, bleeding between periods and pain in the stomach or lower back. Some people may have no symptoms at all.

“I would agree with you that it is in some way silent for women who have had it for years, and then all of a sudden they learn about it in their 30s, their 40s, their 50s or even 60s,” said Dr. Kassandra Scales, an OBGYN with Kaiser Permanente.

She says 70-80% of women may develop fibroids before the age of 50, and Black women are more likely to develop the tumors.

“Black women in particular, they’re three times more likely to have fibroids, and we’re not exactly sure if there is a single cause or if it’s multi-factorial. Sometimes it can be related to family history,” Scales said.

The shame many women experience is why Prince George’s County Councilwoman Wala Blegay, who also battled fibroids, is proposing legislation to shed light on the condition while ensuring there are protections for women in the workplace within the county.

“We do want to make sure that women don’t feel uncomfortable when it comes to their bodies and being able to at least protect themselves from any embarrassing moment or just protecting themselves from people,” Blegay said.

If passed, Blegay says women within the county would have the chance to request time off when they are experiencing symptoms.

“We’re going to make sure that there is education that is done with staff about what fibroids would look like, what that type of request would look like, and making sure that women would be able to boldly say they’re dealing with fibroids and they need to leave,” she said.

It’s a right step to take according to Lee-King.

“I wanted to share the message with women around the country about the importance of not suffering in silence,” she said. “I suffered in silence.”