I was grateful to see Dr. Alfred Neugut discuss two weeks ago in his column, “Thoughts on Cancer” (January 26, 2023), the topic of uterine fibroids and morcellation. Upon reading his article I felt that it was a great opportunity for me to tell my story to the community.

In 2017, I was suffering from what was assumed by my OB-GYN to be “fibroids.” Because I was still in my childbearing years, I pushed to have them surgically removed. After two different myomectomy surgeries, it was found that the suspected “fibroids” were really malignant fibrous tissue. I was lucky that a morcellator was not used during my surgeries and that my cancer was found at an early stage. It was shocking and scary to be diagnosed with an endometrial stromal sarcoma, a rare and aggressive type of cancer. At the time of diagnosis I was also told that I would need an emergency hysterectomy to remove the entirety of the tumor, which would ultimately result in permanent infertility. Baruch Hashem, my surgeon was able to get clean margins and my husband and I are currently celebrating five years of no evidence of disease! We have two beautiful and healthy children who are each a miracle in different ways. Our daughter, who was born prior to my diagnosis, and my son, who was born post diagnosis via gestational carrier.

It is surprising to me to learn that 1 in every 350-400 women who have fibroids end up being diagnosed with a uterine sarcoma. I would implore all of you reading this to please know that you are your best advocate. If something in your body feels off, if you have an abnormal lump, bump, or pain, do not dismiss it. I wish someone had told me this earlier. Thank you to Dr. Neugut for discussing sarcomas in general and bringing awareness to this rare and often forgotten cancer. I would love to see more articles dedicated to sarcoma awareness in the future!