Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Bozoma Saint John has revealed she recently underwent surgery to remove multiple fibroids to manage her reproductive health.
Speaking on the RHOBH After Show with co-star Dorit Kemsley, the former Netflix chief marketing officer shared that the procedure was partly motivated by her hope to have a child with her boyfriend, Keely Watson.
“Fibroid surgery was so, it was a scary thing, because who wants to have surgery?” Saint John said during a conversation with Kemsley, 48.
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The businesswoman clarified that her recent surgery was not medically urgent but was undertaken as a precautionary measure, as reported by PEOPLE.
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“Honestly, you know, when I had been discussing my fibroids with my doctor, anyway, it wasn’t a life threatening situation where it’s like, ‘Okay, look, if you don’t have it, this is going to happen to you,’ ” Saint John explained.
“I know that there are a lot of women who have very severe symptoms of their fibroids. I wasn’t one of those people. However, they were large, they were growing. And I just felt like, why wait until some other point where I don’t have a choice in order to do it?” she said.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, “Uterine fibroids are a common type of noncancerous tumor that can grow in and on your uterus.” Symptoms include pain and heavy vaginal bleeding.
Uterine fibroids, common in women aged 30 to 50, can sometimes hinder a woman’s ability to conceive depending on their location. They are often treated through a surgical procedure called a myomectomy, which removes the growth.
Saint John opened up that she and her boyfriend have been discussing starting a family, with Watson expressing interest in having up to three children.
Saint John is already a mother to her daughter, Lael Saint John, from her late husband, Peter Saint John.
“And then on top of it, it’s like, again, I’m not getting any younger. If I’m having these conversations with Keely,” she said. “And I truly believe that we have the opportunity to create a bigger family, then why not do it right now?”
She added, “With the fibroids, I have zero chance [at conceiving]. Also, I want a shot. I want a shot at it. So then I gotta choose to do it.”
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Kemsley revealed that Saint John discovered she had more fibroids than initially expected during her surgical procedure.
“Wasn’t there like 12?” the fashion designer asked.
Saint John replied: “Yes, and one of them was the size of a grapefruit.”
Saint John joins other Real Housewives stars, including Atlanta’s Cynthia Bailey and New York’s Ubah Hassan, in sharing her experience with fibroids.
According to the Mayo Clinic, Black women are more likely to develop fibroids than women of other races.
