Sara Bareilles begins a recent Instagram post with a playful disclaimer: "For those of you who don't like over-sharers, you came to the wrong canteen!" This caption appears below a collage of three photos, all of which were taken in a hospital room. Bareilles is in the middle of recovering from surgery, and her post sheds light on a common, but still little-known, health issue for women.
The singer and acclaimed Broadway composer writes that she underwent "minor surgery" to remove a fibroid from her uterus. Bareilles is among the 70% of white women who will develop uterine fibroids by age 50. For Black women, that number raises to 80%, per the National Institutes of Health. In most cases, these are benign, symptomless growths inside the uterus, but may need to be removed if they cause such symptoms as heavy or irregular periods, problems urinating, abdominal pain, or pain during sex.
Luckily, Bareilles seems to be in high spirits as she makes her recovery. "I will continue to mend and hopefully return with more patience and compassion and knowledge of Game of Thrones," she writes. "Hope this finds you seeking some joy or handing some out to somebody else. We could all use a slice of that."
