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Speaking out about her personal health journey is Linsey Davis. As she recovers from surgery, the ABC News anchor will be away from the news desk for a long time. She opened up about her battle with uterine fibroids, which are non-cancerous tumors that develop on the uterus.
Linsey, 47, said, "I didn't realize what was going on," on the August 11 episode of ABC News Live Prime With Linsey Davis. "I started going for runs because I run frequently, and I would walk home the same route that I could run with ease." And suddenly, I simply ran out of energy.
She went on, "I was getting a blood test by chance, and the doctor called me the following day and was like, ‘You might need to come in for an iron infusion.’”
Prior to being diagnosed with fibroids, which Lupita Nyong'o recently described in detail, Lindsay disclosed that she also suffered from fatigue, bloating, and continuous menstrual pain.
She had a myomectomy to remove the fibroids without affecting her uterus, but the tumors returned, so she had to take a last, more permanent step.
Linsey, who has a 9-year-old son named Ayden with her husband, Paul Roberts, acknowledged that she felt as though the hysterectomy was the last resort. "I just felt like I didn't want to potentially have another five, six, or seven years like this, even though I still have a few more years until menopause."
Although Linsey is anxious about the procedure, which will involve the total removal of her uterus, she is pleased with her choice.
“I’ve never had major surgery before,” she explained. “So, hearing about potential side effects or blood clots that can happen after surgery, I feel there’s some concern. But now that I’ve had my son and don’t plan on having any other children, I guess I just want to be final and finished.”
"I feel like I'm ready to be done with this journey because it causes me enough grief and angst and makes me plan my day differently," she continued.
Linsey stressed the value of sharing her personal story as she signed off before her surgery.
"It's good to know that you can overcome this," she said, adding that I'm not alone in this experience and that far too many Black women in particular go through it. "I now hope that more women won't have to suffer in silence by sharing my own story."
