A popular San Diego radio DJ is using her microphone to talk about a potentially serious health condition that affects at least one in every three women.
Local morning-radio star Geena the Latina -- the queen of Hollywood gossip -- shares it all with her Star 94.1 listeners.
"I've always been open, and in our radio, we're always open with our lives, and that's just how it is," Geena said this week.
The information Geena shares about her life now includes a recent diagnosis -- she learned the rock-hard abs she thought she had gotten by working out were really fibroids. Now, she's working with Dr. Dana Huskey on a treatment plan.
"I told her to put it in layman's terms, like what size they are ... and she said they were two oranges and a grapefruit," Geena said.
Fibroids are benign balls of muscle tumors that form within the uterus -- the uterus is actually made of muscle. It's not known exactly why they form.
"So, very large fibroids," Huskey said. "And I also said they almost took up her uterus to the size that it was almost like she was about five months pregnant."
When Geena talked about those facts on-air, the response was overwhelming.
"Every phone line was filled up with girls who had stories," Geena said. "Also, I've got e-mails from women who, like, didn't know what was wrong with them and heard me talking about it, so now they're going to their doctors. They get checked out. So right when I started getting those e-mails, I knew it was the right thing to do."
"It's really scary, and I think Geena's being really strong coming out and letting people know, 'Hey, I've got, you know, I've got this going on, and I'm finding out what it means, and I'm going to deal with it in the way I need,' so women feel more comfortable in that they're not alone," Huskey said.
Women usually seek treatment if they feel pressure or heaviness, have heavy bleeding or, occasionally, fertility issues. Treatment can range from taking birth control pills to, for some older women, undergoing a hysterectomy.
