Lena Dunham Reveals She Underwent Hysterectomy Amid Battle With Endometriosis
Girls creator and actress Lena Dunham has revealed that, following a brutal years-long battle with endometriosis, she underwent a total hysterectomy in 2017.
Dunham shares the revelation in a personal essay, titled "The Painful Truth," from the upcoming March issue of Vogue.
Portions of the essay were published on the Endometriosis Foundation of America's web site Tuesday (February 13). The excerpts reveal that Dunham's decision to have her cervix and uterus removed came after "years of complex surgeries measuring in the double digits" failed to alleviate her chronic pain.
In the essay, Dunham also discusses her hopes to someday start a family.
"As a child, I would stuff my shirt with a pile of hot laundry and march around the living room beaming ... Soon I’ll start exploring whether my ovaries, which remain someplace inside me in that vast cavern of organs and scar tissue, have egg. Adoption is a thrilling truth I’ll pursue with all my might," she writes.
In April 2017, Dunham underwent surgery to remove her ovaries from her rectal wall. On May 1, while attending the Met Gala in NYC, Dunham was rushed to a hospital after suffering complications caused by the condition.
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