In my fourth book,, I wrote that I wrote my book to give women a voice. This is another dimension, giving women who were subjected to a procedure without knowing the full facts.
In 1979, at 24, I underwent a operation to remove a cyst in my breast. I was not counseled what the procedure was and what the implication was. All I was told was it is just a cyst. At the ward, prior to the op, old women came to hug me. Eight years later, I was to have another identical surgery. Then I was given a full explanation and counseling. How different it was. I wrote about these two experience in my book: Diary of a bereaved woman.
What we want is information. Our body is ours. Not a body part for doctors to carry out as an experience, to try out their tool.
Each year, 600,000 women in the US will undergo
hysterectomies.
This makes it the most common non-pregnancy related surgery for
women. By the
age of 60, one in three women will have undergone a
hysterectomy.
Unfortunately, just because a surgery is common doesn't make it
safe, or even
recommended. Women whose doctors use a 'Power Morcellator' when
performing
hysterectomies may be putting their health at risk without
realizing the
implications of the procedure.
The power
morcellator
is used to cut fibroids into small pieces so they can be removed
from the body
easily. However, these morcellators, which consist of small,
spinning blades,
can spread undetected cancer through the pelvic and abdominal
cavity of affected
women. Once cancer is spread through morcellation, the average
woman will die
within 24 to 36 months.
The problem with using a power morcellator during
hysterectomies
is there is no way to diagnose that the patient is cancer free
before
performing the operation. Using a power morcellator to destroy
the fibroids
will seed cancer throughout the abdominal region if the patient
has early,
undiagnosed cancer. Rather than treating a sarcoma confined to
the uterus, the
doctor is faced with treating cancer that has spread throughout
the abdominal
cavity, and is not one, but multiple, tumors.
According to a recent assessment by the FDA, about
one in 350
women who undergo a hysterectomy for the treatment of fibroids
may have an
undetected cancer. One of these types of cancer is
leiomyosarcoma (LMS), which
is an aggressive form of uterine sarcoma with a particularly
poor prognosis.
On July 10th and 11th, the FDA met to discuss the
dangers of
morcellation and to formulate a recommendation on the use of
morcellation
during hysterectomies. While awaiting their decision, it is our
priority to
raise awareness about this procedure. Our hope is to put a stop
to the use of
morcellators during hysterectomies. We firmly believe this will
stop many
cancer deaths.
Power Morcellator
http://www.recallcenter.com/power-morcellator/lawsuit
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