Lena Dunham is doing whatever she can to ease her pain.
According to the Endometriosis Foundation of America via the March issue of Vogue, the 31-year-old recently had a total hysterectomy — the surgical removal of a woman’s cervix and uterus — in an effort to end her longtime battle with endometriosis.
Related: Lorde Dishes About Her Relationship With Jack Antonoff
After the procedure, the actress learned her reproductive organs were in worse shape than doctors thought:
“In addition to endometrial disease, an odd hump-like protrusion and a septum running down the middle, I have retrograde bleeding, a.k.a. my period running in reverse so that my stomach is full of blood. My ovary has settled in on the muscles around the sacral nerves in my back that allow us to walk. Let’s please not even talk about my uterine lining. The only beautiful detail is that the organ├óΓé¼ΓÇ¥which is meant to be shaped like a light bulb├óΓé¼ΓÇ¥was shaped like a heart.”
Wow. So intense.
As we can imagine, the decision to go through with the operation wasn’t easy. But after being hospitalized three times in less than a year, “years of complex surgeries measuring in the double digits,” and other alternative treatments… something had to be done.
And if you’re wondering if Lena intends to have children, the answer is yes. She explained:
“I may have felt choiceless before, but I know I have choices now. Soon I’ll start exploring whether my ovaries, which remain someplace inside me in that vast cavern of organs and scar tissue, have eggs. Adoption is a thrilling truth I’ll pursue with all my might.”
Good for her. Hang in there, bb!
[Image via Patricia Schlein/WENN.]
Related Posts
-
Categories
