Khaleelah Harris, a recent myomectomy patient along with her friend Yasmine Griffiths, a 4th year medical student at Howard University School of Medicine, have launched a non-profit called ‘The Beauty of Our Wellness’ to help Black women pay for fibroid treatments.
When Harris first had to secure her own health insurance, she was shocked by the cost of reproductive health services. Facing a myomectomy to remove painful fibroids, she then discovered the surgery alone would cost thousands of dollars out of pocket, with hundreds more required for preliminary treatments, according to ESSENCE.
A visual art curator and entrepreneur, Harris was eventually able to find insurance that covered her medical expenses. But she knew many women, particularly those from low-income backgrounds or without insurance, could not access the same resources.
RELATED STORIES
“I just thought to myself, ‘Oh, my goodness, what are people who are low-income doing?’” Harris told ESSENCE. “What are people with uteruses who don’t have insurance doing to pay for this? Considering the numbers and how prevalent it is in our community, that was just always at the back of my mind.”
Fibroids, non-cancerous tumors that grow around the uterus, disproportionately affect Black women and often cause debilitating symptoms such as excessive bleeding, severe pain, and abnormally swollen abdomens that can resemble pregnancy in most cases. Surgical removal, along with other treatments to shrink the fibroids, is often the best option but comes at a very expensive price to be paid.
“As I moved closer to my first surgery date, the bill was $10,000 out of pocket,” Harris explained.
Harris and Griffiths, recognizing the financial burden of fibroid treatment, founded The Beauty of Our Wellness, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit dedicated to providing financial assistance to Black women struggling with the high costs of treating fibroids.
“When in medical school, we learned about fibroids, but seeing it firsthand with a friend really makes it feel more urgent,” Griffiths told ESSENCE.
Their nonprofit provides $500 micro-grants to help cover the costs of fibroid treatment. While they aim to expand reproductive health support on a larger scale, the duo is currently focused on addressing immediate financial challenges for those in need.
“I know firsthand how much having fibroids can affect one’s life,” Harris said, adding that her largest fibroid grew to the size of a small peach. “To deal with everything that comes with that, on top of handling daily responsibilities, is a lot for anyone to handle.”
Recently, ‘The Beauty of Our Wellness’ hosted an awareness luncheon and fundraiser, featuring fine art from the Wright Family Collection, presentations by Black women OBGYNs, and testimonies from former myomectomy patients.
“This feels like a calling,” Griffiths said. “It’s necessary not just to have the conversations but to make space for them to continue and involve experts who can really address the issue. And beyond that, we need to find ways to support people who can’t afford the many costly things that go into having a fibroid. When we come together to address this issue that affects so many of us, we can help each other heal.”
