Young women in North West live with fibroid pain as they wait for treatment for more than a year

Health-e News Young women in North West live with fibroid pain as they wait for treatment for more than a year 25-year old Tiisetso Lekgetho experiences painful periods with heavy bleeding that keeps her home two or three days a month, unable to look for work or go about her normal life.

Lekgetho, from Tsetse village outside Mahikeng in the North West, has multiple uterine fibroids.

She has been waiting for surgery at Bophelong Provincial Hospital since last year.

“The hardest part was waiting this long, it is affecting me every day” Lekgetho says.

Her operation is now scheduled for 11 November.

“The pain doesn’t stop.” “Some days the bleeding is so heavy I can’t leave the house.

I can’t look for work properly because I never know when I’ll be down for days.

It’s draining me physically and mentally.” Lekgetho’s experience highlights the impact of painful and heavy periods on some women’s everyday lives when treatment is delayed.

Fibroids are non-cancerous growths that develop in or around the uterus.

They can cause heavy menstrual bleeding, pelvic or abdominal pain and bladder problems.

Recent research from southern Africa shows the impact can extend far beyond the physical symptoms.

A 2024 study of 60 women diagnosed with uterine fibroids in Eswatini found that participants experienced physical, psychological, emotional and social challenges.

Women reported abnormal bleeding and abdominal pain, while some missed work and other activities because of their symptoms.

Participants also raised concerns about delayed diagnosis and surgery.