Porsha Williams Hopes to ‘Inspire’ Other Women to Take Charge of Their Health After She Opens Up About Partial Hysterectomy
Porsha Williams hopes that she can help other women by sharing her story of having a partial hysterectomy due to uterine fibroids.
“Thank you for all of the love and support today. My heart is so full,” Porsha, 45, wrote on Instagram on September 18. “I just pray that by being brave enough to share my loss, my journey through surgery, and my new quality of life, my story will inspire women to take charge of their health and their bodies.”
Porsha Williams had a fibroid the ‘size of a cantaloupe’
In an essay recently published in Glamour, The Real Housewives of Atlanta star revealed that she had undergone an emergency hysterectomy after her doctor discovered 21 fibroids in her uterus, including one that was “the size of a cantaloupe.”
The Bravo personality was first been diagnosed with fibroids when she was 30. They came back after she gave birth to her daughter Pilar, but Porsha initially opted for a less-invasive treatment, hoping to preserve her fertility in case she wanted another child. She continued to experience symptoms such as heavy periods and migraines, but she thought they were a sign of perimenopause. Unfortunately, during a recent doctor’s appointment, she learned that her symptoms were actually a sign that her fibroids had come back with a vengeance. Soon after, she had her uterus removed. It was a difficult experience.
“I woke up after the surgery and thought, A part of me is gone. Fibroids aren’t something we usually talk about as women, and neither are hysterectomies,” she wrote. “There’s a stigma to it, as if you’re somehow less of a woman without your uterus.”
‘RHOA’ star wants to give other women more power over their health
Porsha grieved the loss of her ability to carry another child. But eventually, she realized that she could use her platform to help other women facing similar health challenges, particularly Black women, who are more likely than other women to be diagnosed with fibroids.
“I realized speaking up could actually make a difference, maybe helping save a young girl from a myomectomy, a miscarriage, or a hysterectomy of her own,” she wrote. “If I could give even one woman more power to ask questions and speak up in a doctor’s office, I knew I had to talk about it. I’m not ashamed anymore, and I want to use every platform I have.”
Porsha reiterated that hope in her Instagram post.
“We can advocate for ourselves and be informed when we walk into these dr offices,” she wrote. “I just wish I had found this community sooner during the years when I felt so alone.”
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