National Gynecological Cancer Awareness Month

So I just learned that this month is National Gynecological Cancer Awareness Month.
The use of Power Morcellators, devices commonly used in procedures like hysterectomy and myomectomy, has recently come under scrutiny from the FDA for the risk of spreading undetected cancer. As unimaginable as this is, women have had this procedure unaware of the possibility that it could accelerate an unknown cancer. It's hard for me to think of going in for a routine procedure and subjecting myself to avoidable risks.  

• What is a Power Morcellator? A device used in hysterectomies to cut tissue into small pieces to be removed from the body. However, uterine cancers sometimes go undetected prior to the procedure. In these cases, the morcellator dices up and spreads unsuspected cancer inside the woman's body.
• Hysterectomy is the 2nd most common surgery among women in the United States
• By age 70, one out of three American women will have had a hysterectomy
• 90% of these surgeries are done to remove Fibroids (non-cancerous tumors found in the uterus)
• The average life span following accidental morcellation of sarcoma is only 24-36 months
• Only 15% of women who have leiomyosarcoma (LMS) that has spread (stage 4) will be alive after 5 years
• Women with sarcoma who are morcellated are about 4 times more likely to die from sarcoma than if they had not been morcellated

For more information read here