Lena Dunham Reveals She Underwent Hysterectomy to Combat Endometriosis Pain
Lena Dunham may have finally won her battle with endometriosis.
The actress, writer, director, and producer has been vocal about her condition, which results from abnormal tissue growth in the uterus. In the March 2018 issue of Vogue magazine, Dunham revealed that she recently underwent a total hysterectomy, or the removal of her cervix and uterus. The Endometriosis Foundation excerpted the article on its website.
“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.” Dunham wrote. “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—which is meant to be shaped like a light bulb—was shaped like a heart.”
Dunham has been repeatedly hospitalized and undergone multiple surgeries to try to treat her condition and was even declared endometriosis-free last April, although a month later she was rushed to the hospital and had to cancel her “Lenny IRL” tour after she reported feeling the “greatest amount of physical pain that I have ever experienced.”
Despite having her reproductive organs removed, Dunham said that she still intends to have children — with surrogacy or adoption being possible options.
“I may have felt choiceless before, but I know I have choices now,” she writes. “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.”
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