Foundation for Women's Health

I’m launching a fundraiser to support the Foundation for Women’s Health, a nonprofit advancing women-specific health research.

In partnership with Academy Award-winning actress Lupita Nyong’o, they’ve established a Uterine Fibroid Research Grant focused on accelerating minimally and non-invasive treatments for fibroids.

Fibroids are benign tumors that grow in and around the uterus.

Up to 8 out of 10 women will develop them by age 50.

Yet despite affecting an estimated 26 million women ages 15–50 in the U.S. alone, fibroids remain severely under-researched. Treatment options are limited — and often invasive. In fact, fibroids are one of the leading causes of hysterectomy.

#MakeFibroidsCount is about refusing to normalize debilitating pain.

It’s about turning awareness into research — and research into better solutions.

If you’re able, join me.

Donate. Share. Start your own fundraiser.

Together, we can help change the future of women’s health.

Over the course of my lifetime, I have carried 77 uterine fibroids: 25 surgically removed, and more than 50 still growing inside me today, the largest the size of an orange. This is not a rare story. It is just a rarely told one.

I have endured seasons of constant pain, losing dangerous amounts of blood each month, and suffering in silence. In this image, I'm holding 77 fruits, one for each fibroid, to make visible the weight that I, and millions of women like me, carry every day.

Last year, I broke my silence. The response was overwhelming: women everywhere reached out with stories just like mine.

That's why I launched Make Fibroids Count, to raise funds and awareness for uterine fibroid research, and to directly support scientists developing less-invasive and non-invasive treatments.

Women's health has been historically underfunded and under-researched, and fibroids are a striking example: they affect up to 80% of women by age 50, yet treatment options remain limited and often devastatingly invasive. Black women are disproportionately affected, experiencing fibroids earlier and with more severe symptoms. Fibroids are also the leading cause of hysterectomies in the United States, a drastic intervention with profound consequences for a woman's body, identity, and reproductive future.

There is something deeply wrong when a condition this widespread is this poorly understood. That has to change.

Your donation helps fund the research that could change the course of this disease: for me, for the women who reached out, and for the generations of women who come after us.

Help make fibroids visible. Donate today.

Fibroids are benign tumors that grow in and around the uterus, and unfortunately, they are a common plight for many women. Not only have I faced my own struggles with fibroids, but I've also witnessed many of the incredible women in my life endure the same battle, each with varying degrees of severity. Heavy, painful periods, chronic pelvis pain, anemia, reproductive issues or complications, and even physical changes are just some of the major life disruptions that women with fibroids have to face.

What is truly alarming is that while up to 8 out of 10 women will develop fibroids by age 50, fibroids remain severely under-researched. The treatment options available are limited and often extremely invasive, affecting women of all ages.

This is why I am fundraising for the Foundation for Women's Health, a leading nonprofit that funds women-specific health research. They have established, in partnership with Academy Award-winning actress Lupita Nyong'o, a Uterine Fibroid Research Grant to advance less invasive and non-invasive medical treatments for fibroids.

The #MakeFibroidsCount movement is for the millions of women who silently carry the physical and emotional burdens of fibroids.

I am incredibly proud of my cousin Lupita for using her platform to shine a light on this issue and bring much-needed change to the future of women's health.

This is about better options for us and for our daughters.

I invite you to join this movement and support the Foundation of Women's Health. Every donation counts and will help us move closer to a future where fibroids no longer dictate the quality of women's lives.

Thank you for your support.

For over 12 years, The White Dress Project (TWDP) has been transforming the lives of those affected by uterine fibroids. Our mission is to shine a global spotlight on this widespread condition, ensuring no one faces it alone or in silence. We do this through education, research, community-building, and advocacy. We empower individuals with knowledge about fibroids and their treatment options, drive meaningful research, and unite a passionate community of advocates fighting for better health outcomes. Our commitment is clear: to end the silent suffering associated with fibroids, once and for all.

We are fundraising for the Foundation for Women’s Health, a leading nonprofit funding women specific health research. They established, in partnership with Academy Award winning actress Lupita Nyong’o, a Uterine Fibroid Research Grant to advance less invasive and non-invasive medical treatments for fibroids. Fibroids are benign tumors that grow in and around the uterus. Up to 8 out of 10 women will develop fibroids by age 50, and despite affecting ~26M women ages 15-50 in the US alone, fibroids remain severely under researched. Treatment options are limited and often extremely invasive. Fibroids, for example, are a leading cause for hysterectomies!

#MakeFibroidsCount is a movement for millions of women who silently carry physical and emotional burdens from fibroids. Together, we can change the future of women’s health. Join the movement. Donate to support the Foundation for Women’s Health!

We are fundraising to support our friend Lupita Nyong'o and the Foundation for Women’s Health, who have partnered together in the creation of a Uterine Fibroid Research Grant to advance less invasive and non-invasive medical treatments for fibroids.

Fibroids are benign tumors that grow in and around the uterus. Up to 8 out of 10 women will develop fibroids by age 50, and despite affecting ~26M women ages 15-50 in the US alone, fibroids remain severely under researched. Treatment options are limited and often extremely invasive. Fibroids, for example, are a leading cause for hysterectomies! #MakeFibroidsCount is a movement for millions of women who silently carry physical and emotional burdens from fibroids.

Together, we can change the future of women’s health. Join the movement. Donate to support the Foundation for Women’s Health!

My sister has been there for me my entire life. She’s caught me when I fall, wiped away my tears, and been my voice of reason more times than I can count. Just as much as she’s always shown up for me, I want to show up for her now.

Today, I’m asking you to join me in supporting her and millions of other women, by helping raise critical funds for research into less invasive treatments for fibroids.

This cause is deeply personal. My sisters, close friends, aunties, and so many women I love have battled fibroids. I’ve watched them endure painful and frightening surgeries, face heavy bleeding and discomfort, and carry constant worry on the impact on their fertility, often in silence, told that it’s “common” and handed only a few difficult options.

My sister now has the chance to help change that. She’s part of a movement to transform women’s health, and I want to stand beside her every step of the way.

I'm fundraising for the Foundation for Women’s Health, a leading nonprofit funding women specific health research. They established, in partnership with Academy Award winning actress Lupita Nyong’o, a Uterine Fibroid Research Grant to advance less invasive and non-invasive medical treatments for fibroids. Fibroids are benign tumors that grow in and around the uterus. Up to 8 out of 10 women will develop fibroids by age 50, and despite affecting ~26M women ages 15-50 in the US alone, fibroids remain severely under researched. Treatment options are limited and often extremely invasive. Fibroids, for example, are a leading cause for hysterectomies!

#MakeFibroidsCount is a movement for millions of women who silently carry physical and emotional burdens from fibroids. Together, we can change the future of women’s health. Join the movement. Donate to support the Foundation for Women’s Health!

Please help me reach my goal by donating any amount you can and stand with me for my sister.

Thank you!

I'm fundraising for the Foundation for Women’s Health, a leading nonprofit funding women specific health research. They established, in partnership with Academy Award winning actress Lupita Nyong’o, a Uterine Fibroid Research Grant to advance less invasive and non-invasive medical treatments for fibroids. Fibroids are benign tumors that grow in and around the uterus. Up to 8 out of 10 women will develop fibroids by age 50, and despite affecting ~26M women ages 15-50 in the US alone, fibroids remain severely under researched. Treatment options are limited and often extremely invasive. Fibroids, for example, are a leading cause for hysterectomies! #MakeFibroidsCount is a movement for millions of women who silently carry physical and emotional burdens from fibroids. Together, we can change the future of women’s health. Join the movement. Donate to support the Foundation for Women’s Health!

I'm fundraising for the Foundation for Women’s Health, a leading nonprofit funding women specific health research. They established, in partnership with Academy Award winning actress Lupita Nyong’o, a Uterine Fibroid Research Grant to advance less invasive and non-invasive medical treatments for fibroids. Fibroids are benign tumors that grow in and around the uterus. Up to 8 out of 10 women will develop fibroids by age 50, and despite affecting ~26M women ages 15-50 in the US alone, fibroids remain severely under researched. Treatment options are limited and often extremely invasive. Fibroids, for example, are a leading cause for hysterectomies! #MakeFibroidsCount is a movement for millions of women who silently carry physical and emotional burdens from fibroids. Together, we can change the future of women’s health. Join the movement. Donate to support the Foundation for Women’s Health!

Inspired by Lupita Nyong’o’s leadership through the Make Fibroids Count campaign, I am launching this fundraiser to stand alongside my patients and advocate for stronger research, earlier diagnosis, better treatment options, and greater equity in care — especially for the women who are disproportionately affected.

My goal is to use my voice not only in the operating room, but in the broader conversation around women’s health. For years, I have dedicated my platform to education — creating hundreds of videos, hosting lives, and answering countless questions so women navigating fibroids can have the clarity, validation, and answers they deserve. I have spent my career providing the highest level of care while also fighting to ensure women are heard, believed, and properly treated.

As a fibroid specialist, caring for women with fibroids is not just part of my work — it is my life’s mission.

This commitment to education, advocacy, and excellence in care is how I became known as “The Fibroid Doc.”

Every week, I see the physical and emotional toll this condition takes:

I also see how underfunded and under-recognized fibroids remain, despite how common and life-altering they are.

If fibroids have touched your life in any way, I invite you to join me.

Together, we can push this issue further into the light and make fibroids impossible to ignore.

For me and my friends growing up, it was a big deal to know which celebrities you shared your birthday with. March 1st is my birthday, and over the years I’ve proudly claimed celebrities like Justin Bieber, Kesha, and Paul Hollywood as my birthday twins. Elite company, honestly.

But recently, I discovered I share March 1st with another incredible woman: Lupita Nyong’o.

And while I love a good celebrity birthday fact, what truly stopped me in my tracks was hearing her story.

Lupita recently launched #MakeFibroidsCount, a campaign raising awareness and funding for uterine fibroid research. As I started learning more, I was honestly shocked. As a woman, even I didn’t fully understand what uterine fibroids were — or how common and under-researched they are.

Fibroids are benign tumors that grow in and around the uterus. Up to 8 out of 10 women will develop fibroids by age 50. IAnd yet, despite impacting millions, fibroids remain severely underfunded and under-researched. Treatment options are limited and often extremely invasive — they’re one of the leading causes of hysterectomies.

How did so many of us not know this?!

I’m fundraising for the Foundation for Women’s Health, a leading nonprofit funding women-specific health research. In partnership with Lupita Nyong’o, they established a Grant focused on advancing less invasive and non-invasive treatment options for Uterine Fibroids.

Since Lupita and I are birthday “twins,” I’m dedicating our birthdays to something bigger this year.

I’m fundraising in support of Make Fibroids Count — for our birthdays, and for the millions of women who deserve better research, better treatment options, and better outcomes.