Dr. Yan Katsnelson, CEO and founder of USA Fibroid Centers was in the studio of Atlanta News First with model and actress Real Housewives of Atlanta Star, Cynthia Bailey and USA Fibroid Centers Ambassador to talk about the fibroid disease during Fibroid Awareness Month.
Cynthia Bailey shared her experience with fibroids. She was diagnosed with fibroids in her early 20s and suffered from severe symptoms for many years. She eventually underwent UFE, which she said was a life-changing experience.
The TV appearance concluded with a call to action for women to talk to their doctor about fibroids if they are experiencing any symptoms. The hosts also emphasized that UFE is a safe and effective treatment option for fibroids.
Here are some additional points that were made during the TV appearance:
- Fibroids are more common in black women than in white women.
- Fibroids can cause a number of health problems, including anemia, pain, and infertility.
- UFE is a safe and effective treatment option for fibroids.
- Women should talk to a fibroid specialist if they are experiencing any symptoms of fibroids.
Watch the complete Newscast Here.
Read the Transcript:
Advocates Discuss Causes and Symptoms of Fibroids for Awareness Month on Atlanta News First Channel
In Conversation with
Dr. Yan Katsnelson, USA Fibroids Centers CEO, and Cynthia Bailey, Fibroid Fighters Ambassador
ANF Reporter:
July is fibroid awareness month. According to the US National Institutes of Health by the age of 50, up to 80% of black women and 70% of white women have fibroids. But here’s the interesting part. 80% of the women don’t even know they have them.
So, this morning we’re joined in studio, uh, with Dr. Yan Katsnelson. He is the CEO and founder of USA Fibroid Clinics. And we also have model and actress Real Housewives of Atlanta Star, Cynthia Bailey. And you are a fibroid fighters ambassador. So welcome to both of you. Thank you for being here. Really important topic to talk about, doctor, because it’s shocking to me that women don’t even know they have fibroids.
Dr. Yan Katsnelson:
There are a few reasons for this. One of these, you know, women are busy. they’re taking care of everyone, but, but not themselves. And t’s very common. When something is very common, people have a tendency to normalize things. If everyone has it, it must be norm, not realizing that it’s a disease that can have a cure. And over hundreds of years, the treatment was hysterectomy, just removal of the problem. And, uh, but the last 25 years, this minimally invasive treatment can just eliminate the problem with a 30-40 minute procedure. So women do not to have to suffer.
ANF Reporter:
So we’re rethinking how these were treated in the past for those people that may not know what fibroids are. Can you explain what is a fibroid?
Dr. Yan Katsnelson:
Fibroid disease is a benign growth, benign tumor in the fibroids that grow and compete with many things for blood and space. And it creates symptoms of severe bleeding and pain that’s the most common problem. Heavy bleeding between period bleeding and leading to anemia and weakness and pain, including bloating, constipation, pain during sex, and really affects life. It’s more than 50% complaints of affecting the quality of life. 45% affecting sex life. More than third affects the work, and family relationships. Basically, it’s a life killer of the best 20, 30 years of life. And it shouldn’t be
ANF Reporter:
And it shouldn’t be. And, Cynthia, the fibroids affected you.
Cynthia Bailey:
Yes. For many years.
ANF Reporter:
Can you talk about how you didn’t know you had them.
Cynthia Bailey:
No, no. The first time I heard the word fibroid was when I was pregnant with my now 23-year-old daughter, Noelle. And I went for a checkup and she’s like, you have a little fibroid. So I’m like, oh my God, what’s that? It’s gonna hurt the baby. She’s like, no, no, no, it’s fine. It’s fine. She made it seem like it was not a big deal. What ended up happening was it grows. It wasn’t a big deal at the time, but they grow and grow and grow. So years later I just started to have a lot of complications. Like some of the symptoms that Dr. Yan was speaking of. I was severely anemic. I was like, you know, my menstrual cycle was completely unbearable. I was always on my cycle. It felt like I was on it or I was getting off of it. I had like maybe three days of where I had like a, a good, you know, just good days where I actually felt good. And you know, just going back to the whole quality of life, I just always felt tired. I always was on my cycle, stayed on the celebrity baby bump list. I was always getting Congratulations, for being pregnant because I looked about three months pregnant.
ANF Reporter:
Now, so let me ask you when all of this was going on, did you connect it back to the fibroid?
Or were you just like, I don’t know what is going on with me?
Cynthia Bailey:
No, I had no idea.
ANF Reporter:
And, you’re busy being a mom. Sure. Right?
Cynthia Bailey:
Yes. And I think women, you know, especially like entrepreneurs like myself, we’re used to just being, you know, working and not really feeling that great all the time because we’re tired just normally anyway, just from our work. And I went to my gynecologist and I, you know, I was like, something’s just, this is crazy. Like something has to be going on here. And then she told me about the fibroids and she, the first thing that she recommended was a hysterectomy. And I thought, now wait a minute,
ANF Reporter:
You are too young for that.
Cynthia Bailey:
Right. And even though at that time I knew I didn’t wanna have more children. But I didn’t know if that was the answer to like this whole fibroid thing. So I started doing my research and then I heard about uterine fibroid embolization.
ANF Reporter:
Okay. So, the doctor can explain what that is. Because, that is a non-invasive treatment that you’re talking about. So for women, a hysterectomy is not always the answer.
Dr. Yan Katsnelson:
It’s almost always not an answer. Why would you remove totally normal organ? Think it’s like removing the head for the headache instead of Tylenol or, or cold compress. So uterine fibroid embolization is a procedure through the wrist, for example, or going through the needle hole with a slave, the catheter that, and embolize clogged arteries that feeds fibroids. So think like a lawn, if you stop, watering this, it just dies. The same thing with the fibroids. We decrease blood supply. And then just dies, shrink and disappear, get absorbed by the body. But still uterus can function and babies can be born.
ANF Reporter:
How successful is it in then eliminating those fibroids? Is it, I mean, can women say Okay, I’m good now.
Dr. Yan Katsnelson:
I think 98, 90 9%, that’s,
ANF Reporter:
Those are pretty good odds.
- Yan Katsnelson:
So it’s important thing is if someone does it once a month might not be as good. But if someone does it few a day at 10 plus a week, that’s it. Amazing Practice makes it better. So in USA fibroid centers, we have dozens of amazing interventional radiologists. They do it almost every day. And do many and help many women and have extraordinary results.
ANF Reporter:
And I think the thing for, it’s important for women to go see their primary care doctor.
Then perhaps seek this treatment and check with your insurance. Make sure that insurance is covered.
Dr. Yan Katsnelson:
It’s covered by insurance. Now covered by insurance. Manage Medicaid and it’s outpatient. Yes. Hour, two hours later you go home, you’re good. Done, you’re good. And it is important, why waste 20 years?
Cynthia Bailey:
And it’s so important to just keep the conversation going. I don’t even suffer anymore at this point, but I’m a part of USA Fibroid Centers Ambassador program. Because I was one of the first, you know, celebrity people to really just talk about it. I talked about it.
ANF Reporter:
It’s almost embarrassing like women don’t wanna talk about it.
Cynthia Bailey:
Talk about it not sexy, nobody wants to talk about fibroids, but I talked about it on the Real Housewives of Atlanta. Yes. And you know, so many women today still come up and thank me for that. So.
ANF Reporter:
Well we thank you for that too.
Cynthia Bailey:
You’re welcome.
ANF Reporter:
And Doctor, thank you for the good information this morning. Thank you we appreciate it.
For more information about UFE and USA Fibroid Centers, schedule an appointment.