Buy backpacks, exercise machines, athletic shoes, and more at Fogdog Sports. Many of you may have first heard of fibroids when you found out a friend had them. They're generally benign tumors that grow inside your uterus and can be as small as a pea or as large as a cantaloupe.
Uterine fibroids contain fibrous tissue that's similar to the normal tissue of the uterus.
They usually grow along the uterine wall, but sometimes they protrude into the cavity of the uterus or grow outside it altogether. The hormones progesterone and estrogen stimulate their growth, which can be slow or very rapid. Since estrogen levels decline with age, fibroids usually affect women during their reproductive years and shrink after menopause. Between 20 percent and 40 percent of women develop uterine fibroids. The reason isn't known, although recent studies indicate that genetics may play a part.