An estimated 20 percent of white women and 50 percent of black women over thirty years old have fibroids. Fibroids are grayish white, firm, round, and ring-shaped. They come in all sizes, and it's common to have several fibroids growing at once. The main problem is that once fibroids develop, they may continue to grow, and even if they're surgically removed, there's a 10 percent chance they'll grow back. This is the main reason why so many doctors recommend hysterectomies for women with fibroids.
Nobody knows why fibroids develop.
What we do know is that estrogen can trigger fibroids and may make the fibroids grow more quickly. Just as estrogen triggers the uterine lining, or endometrium, to grow and thicken during the estrogen peak in the menstrual cycle, it also triggers the myometrium to grow and thicken, which is where the fibroids are located. So, it's not surprising that the fibroids will grow too, since they consist of uterine muscle tissue. After menopause, the fibroids will usually shrink. So if you're only a few years away from menopause and you've just developed fibroids, they may shrink on their own without treatment.