Sister Circle host, cookbook author, and star of Bravo’s Married to Medicine recently opened up about her struggle with fibroids at 38-years-old. With over 800K followers on social media, Quad was more determined than ever to use her platform to bring awareness to this silenced disease. The eager talk show host took time out of her busy schedule to sit down with us for an exclusive interview about her personal journey, how she stays strong, and much more!
Tell us about your struggle dealing with fibroids.
That struggle for me began a couple years back. I really didn’t understand what was happening, however I did see a change in my body. First of all, I saw a change in my weight. I had weight gain in my abdomen area, I experienced heavy bleeding, elongated period times, I experienced back pain, and frequent urination. Oh my gosh, it was a plethora of things to be honest with you. I noticed this dramatic change, I never had these issues prior to. I could remember once I could touch my stomach and felt this round, hard, baseball. It was weird to me, I thought maybe I had a hernia. Little did I know, it was fibroids. I was hoping it wasn’t because my mom struggled with fibroids and had to have a hysterectomy. When I went to the doctor’s office and she told me it was fibroids, it was devastating. I’m a person who is not a sick individual, I never had any major surgery or anything.
For me hear this, being my age (I was 37 years old at the time) and not having a child, and I hearing that I had to have surgery was scary. There was a possibility depending on how bad it was that I may not have children. It was a huge panic and shock. At the time, I was offered a hysterectomy. It tells me that if I ever were to become pregnant, I would be conforming to a C-section, it just wasn’t something I wanted to experience.
I just didn’t want to make a dramatic decision. I did research and luckily, I have a bunch of friends who are OBGYNs, I was able to have a point of reference. I had seven fibroids, a couple were as big as a grapefruit. I learned about acessa and learned that my downtime was going to be five days versus six weeks had I had a hysterectomy.
Why are you so passionate about opening up and sharing your story in order to help others dealing with the same issue?
Women are very quiet. We have been taught in society to just be there for everyone else. Often, we neglect ourselves, we overlook what our bodies are telling us. Who wants to go out and tell people that they were having heavy periods. No one wants to talk about that. For me, in my position with my platform, I felt like it was my responsibility to let others know it’s okay. You’re not the only one that goes through this. There are other options. In my findings, I know women who are 24-years-old who have never had children, have a bright future, and they’ve been sold a hysterectomy. Doctors are going to sell what they know. You may never hear of acessa or other options out there. It’s our responsibility to take our health in our own hands and learn about what’s happening to our bodies and seeing what our other options are in terms of health care treatment. With my platform, I felt like it was my responsibility. I feel like this should be an ongoing conversation. Hysterectomies are not the only option. I refuse to accept that.
How do you find the inspiration to stay strong dealing with this?
Woo, it was tough. At the time when I learned about what was going on, I had other things going on in my personal life. I’m a woman of resilience. My strength comes in me being that person that no matter what you’re going through, Quad you’re going to win and be successful. I always look at the fact that God never said that we were not going to go through anything. He said we must trust the process and that He would see us though. Along with my faith, strength, and tenacity, I’ve always been very bold. I’ve always moved without fear. I encourage women no matter what they’re going through and what life throws at them, you don’t have to conform. We have a voice, we can be bold, strong, and successful without having to sacrifice loving your family. If you’re not healthy, how can you take care of your family?
Fibroids are an overgrowth of smooth muscle tissue. A lot of times, they are very hard in shape. They can be in the uterus or even outside of the uterus. You want to make sure you address this, especially for women who don’t have children because if you have a fibroid within your philotherian tube, its blocking the opportunity for you to conceive. You just want to be mindful of what is happening to your body, read what’s happening to your body. Take action by being proactive. One of the ways you can do that is keep your stress level down. Also, exercise. Watch your diet. Manage them by eating fruit, fish, broccoli, cauliflower, get your vitamin D and C, they help along the way.
Acessa was most suitable for me with my busy schedule, I couldn’t afford time off but I knew I needed to address what was happening to me health wise. I have small incisions, you can’t even tell. I had the surgery back March 2019 and there is little to no resemblance of it. A lot of times when African American women go into hospitals, we’re being looked over and we’re almost being taken as we don’t know what’s going on with our bodies. I can tell you that my physician is not one of those physicians. Ask about it! It was a life changer for me for sure.
What can we expect to see from you in the future?
The sky is the limit! After I hit the clouds, I’m going to do other things (laughs). The city of Atlanta has definitely been extremely supportive of me. They have acknowledged all of the things I have going on. With that, June 18th was proclaimed Quad’s Day so I really want to do something in the arena of healthcare with women, preferably fibroids. I want to do something that surrounds women in health. I’m still cooking because I absolutely love it! I have multiple cooking demonstrations going on tonight. I just want to continue to strive for greatness and give my passion to the world. I have a passion for cooking, I have a passion for women’s health, people in general, and I want to do more acting. I had the opportunity to get my feet wet with that and I want to explore that more in 2020.
For more on Quad, click here!
Stay connected with her by following her on Facebook, Sister Circle Host, Quad, & Twitter.
All imaegs by Will Sterling
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