Take, for example, the story of Becky Ulrich.
Painful, heavy periods were disrupting Becky’s life. To find out why, she went to the gynecologist for tests. A pap smear soon revealed “questionable cells,” which led healthcare professionals to schedule an internal sonogram.
Through the sonogram, a concerning issue was discovered. That issue was a number of fibroid tumors in her uterus. But that was the least of Becky’s problems.
Further procedures revealed a terrifying diagnosis. Becky had uterine and endometrial cancer. As a result, she underwent a hysterectomy in her mid-forties.
Becky’s story is not unique. Hysterectomies are a relatively common thing. According to the Office on Women’s Health, hysterectomies rank as the second most common operation that females undergo each year (outranked by just one thing: cesarean section). In fact, over 500,000 women have hysterectomies annually.
So what exactly is a hysterectomy?
According to the Office on Women’s Health, a hysterectomy is a procedure in which a woman’s uterus is removed. (A quick refresher-this is the area of the body that harbors the growth of a baby.) Sometimes the fallopian tubes and ovaries are also removed. Once a hysterectomy is performed, it is no longer possible to conceive and menstruation ceases.