The study, called Fibroid Interventions: Reducing Symptoms Today and Tomorrow (FIRSTT), will randomly assign women to be treated with either UAE or MRgFUS.  The study will follow patients for three years to assess how effective the treatments are in symptom relief, absence of side effects, impact on quality of life, need for additional treatment, and even the costs associated with each approach.

“Many women suffering from fibroids go to their local doctor and are offered hysterectomy to treat their fibroids, but are given no alternatives to surgery,” says Elizabeth A. Stewart, MD, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Mayo Clinic and Principal Investigator of the study. “Both UAE and FUS are excellent less invasive options for women, but we have very little scientific evidence comparing these two approaches.  The major goal of this important study is to generate information that will guide physicians and patients on the options that are right for them.”

The success of the FIRSTT trial depends on women participating in the research.  The study is now enrolling 220 women who can be treated at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota or Duke University in Durham, North Carolina.  To find out more about the study and whether you are eligible to participate, please click here.

If you want to engage in a Facebook group for women interested in the study, please follow this link.

While these options may be fine choices for many women, Frances decided to do some research and find out about non-invasive options. She chose MR-guided focused ultrasound (MRg-FUS) and was very satisfied with the way it reduced the size of her fibroids and eliminated the symptoms they were causing. After the treatment, she no longer had abdominal pressure, painful intercourse and heavy periods.

To give you an update on her status, there was another positive outcome from her treatment. Frances was able to get pregnant and not worry about the fibroids interfering. (Focused ultrasound is approved for women who want to retain fertility, but they must consult with a physician about their particular circumstances.)

Frances gave birth to a healthy baby girl, Faryn, in August of 2010. Frances learned about focused ultrasound through the Fibroid Relief website and was inspired by a story of a women who had been treated with MRg-FUS and had gone on to have a baby. We wish Frances and Faryn all the best and hope that her story will inspire other women to pursue non-invasive treatment and hold on to their hopes of having a child.

Read Frances’ original story published in 2009.

Learn about focused ultrasound clinical trials.

The Focused Ultrasound Surgery Foundation, through its patient support initiative, Fibroid Relief, is dedicated to educating women about Focused Ultrasound and ensuring that women are empowered with information to make the best decision for their health.   The CBS Evening News segment reinforces our commitment to spreading the word about focused ultrasound and encouraging uterine fibroid patients to request coverage from their insurance providers for this non-surgical treatment option.

Stephanie Small, the Fibroid Relief Patient Advocate highlighted in the segment, is one of many women helping us to shift this treatment paradigm and provide access for all women to this treatment.  Stephanie’s steadfast conviction to find the right treatment options for her lifestyle, and commitment to helping other women struggling with uterine fibroids, demonstrates how one person can make a difference.  We are proud of Stephanie and feel confident that her message of empowerment and hope reached many other women suffering daily with the uncomfortable symptoms of uterine fibroids.

Watch the CBS News story

Learn More About Uterine Fibroid Clinical Trials

Yvonne:

I had known about hysterectomies because my sister who’s 12 years older than me had gone through that.  After her surgery, I took care of her kids and helped.  And I knew the recovery.  I knew that you were in a hospital.  I knew that that was not for me.  That was not an option that I was willing to go through.

As the years passed, I went through things like anemia.  Because the bleeding was so heavy, frequent bloating, back pressure.  A bunch of issues with fibroids.  And here in the last two years, I had a lot of frequent trips to the bathroom.

I went to my primary care doctor and said “What other options do I have?” He introduced me to Dr. Nebgen. She talked to me about this new procedure and asked if I was interested.  And my first thought was, “Wow!  If I can do something and provide myself some relief without a hospital stay, without being cut, I’m interested.  Where do I sign?”

And so she had a lady come and talk to me and tell me about the study.  And then I went for an MRI.  And about a week later, it was actually on Valentine’s Day, I found out that I was a candidate for the study.  It was the best Valentine’s gift I’d ever had.

Dr. Nebgen:

OK.  Well, I don’t know what most of you came here to hear about.  But the people who are out there in the audience that have the same idea that she has, which is I was born with my uterus and I want to keep it, or for whatever reason you just can’t have surgery, don’t want to have surgery, don’t want to take off of work, don’t want to this, that, or the other, this makes a great candidate.  But this isn’t a procedure for everyone.  There are certain fibroids that don’t work.  If you have a huge uterus the size of a six or eight-month pregnancy, full of fibroids, practically almost nothing will work except a hysterectomy.  But if things are within reason and you haven’t put it off for too long, a doctor can tell you which one of these things would probably be best for you.

So let me ask Yvonne, on that note, to tell you how it was the day of the procedure.  As we’ve mentioned, you literally come in, have this done, and go home and back to work the next day.  So tell us how it was for you.  What did you feel?  How hard?  How painful?  How scary?  How good, bad or indifferent?

Yvonne:

My impression of an MRI was I’m going to be in this closed environment.  And I know personally that I’m claustrophobic.  And so when I did the diagnostic MRI and knew that I could tolerate lying down on my stomach and doing an MRI, I knew this could work.  That morning I arrived at 7:00 and took a pregnancy test to make sure I was not pregnant.

Then I went into a little screened area where they started to prep me.  I had an IV put in.  I had a catheter put in.  That wasn’t fun.  But it wasn’t painful or anything.  After that we went to the MRI room.  It was a little awkward in positioning, so I tried to line up just perfectly.  They had a blood pressure monitor on my leg. I had a pump in one hand and a stop-the-equipment button in the other hand.  One pump would call nurses if I needed them.  And they were always willing to assist throughout.  Throughout the procedure, there are little pulses of sensation that are sent up into the area to kill off the fibroid.  And this little bitty button, as I found out, was me directly stopping it at any point that I didn’t like it.  And there are little bitty short — I would say about 15-second — little pulses.  They sort of rise in intensity and then drop.

This lasted for a few hours.  And actually one time I pushed the little button and said “hold.”  But it’s not anything that was terrible pain or anything like that.  I’ve had menstrual cramps that are 1,000 times worse than I experienced when I did this.

And afterwards they take the equipment out of your hands and you move to another table.  I was watched for about an hour.  Then my ride came and picked me up, and I went home.  I could have gone to work the next day, except we were closed.  I had this sense of “I’ve done something.  I am making a change.  I’m going to have relief.”

Dr. Nebgen:

All right.  Final question.  And this can be quick.  Would you recommend this to anyone else?

Yvonne:

Oh yes.  Everybody.

We will be adding new blogs over the course of the month, so please check back each week.

#1 His Middle Name – Guest Blog by Megan Lubin

#2 Infertility & Fibroids…Yet Another Symptom – Guest Blog by Wendy Perkins

After my son was born 14 weeks premature due to a placental abruption caused by an 11cm fibroid, my husband and I found ourselves desperately searching for any resources and support to no avail. One of the only sites we found that was informative and a comfort to us was Fibroid Relief. While we were fumbling through other sites for answers and wading through unreliable information, so many of our family, friends, neighbors and even strangers reached out to us with their own questions and concerns. With so many people wanting to learn about our experience, and frustrated at the few resources available, I began to believe sharing our story would offer what we were searching for ourselves. That’s when the idea of His Middle Name became a palpable reality.

His Middle Name has been started with the hopes of creating a sense of community among parents of premature children and women who have experienced pregnancy complications. By sharing my own personal experience with fibroids and the subsequent premature birth of my son, His Middle Name is dedicated to providing advocacy and gynecologic health information while steadily featuring education and awareness initiatives on the blog. By partnering with Fibroid Relief in such a simple and honest way, it allows His Middle Name to go to that next level and reach more women from a larger platform. Most importantly, I would like to think of His Middle Name as a source of inspiration and hope for the many women and parents I created the website for. For more information, please visit our web site and our Facebook page.

The guest being interviewed was Dr. Roshini Raj, medical editor for Health Magazine. She discussed the latest information on heavy bleeding, hormone replacement, and – most interesting to us, of course – fibroids.

The two new treatments she recommended for fibroids are uterine artery embolization and focused ultrasound. We’d like to share the clip with you because we believe it’s worth watching.

Today Show Segment

Watch the interactive event video.

The panelists were:

John H. Fischer II, M.D., Department of Radiology, St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital

Denise R. Nebgen, MD, PhD, DDS, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, The Methodist Hospital

Robert K. Zurawin, M.D., Associate Professor of Gynecology, Baylor College of Medicine

The physicians on the panel, also members of the Fibroid Relief Advisory Board, gave an in depth overview of the available treatment options for fibroids. Two patient advocates also generously shared their personal stories of getting treatment for fibroids, including a patient who had been treated the previous week with focused ultrasound, a non-invasive treatment option.

Following the panel discussion, attendees were able to get some of their pressing questions about fibroids answered during a lively Question and Answer (Q&A) segment. After the Q & A wrapped up, guests visited the exhibit booths from our generous sponsors: The Methodist Hospital, St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital, Abbott Laboratories, and InSightec.

Thank you to our guests, sponsors, and the panelists for making it an enjoyable and educational evening!

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