Ways to Help
Volunteer Your Special Skills
Be An Advocate for Fibroid Research
Support the Uterine Fibroids Research and Education Act of 2005
Make a Personal Contribution
Volunteer Your Special Skills
Some research projects are never undertaken due to lack of appropriate personnel such as individuals with computer, data management, graphic design, or molecular biology experience. The Center for Uterine Fibroids is growing and improving with the help and insights of dedicated volunteers. If you have any of these or other relevant skills and are interested in volunteering for our center, please fill out and submit the form below.
Be an Advocate for Fibroid Research
Make your voice heard! Send a letter in support of women's health resource or get in touch with your Senator directly.
Support the Uterine Fibroids Research and Education Act of 2005
On June 22, 2005, Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones of Ohio introduced the following bill to increase the funding available for research and education about uterine fibroids. Out of the total NIH budget of over $27 billion, only $5 million were spent on uterine fibroids last year. This legislation would double the funding for uterine fibroids research at NIH, providing the investment needed to jumpstart basic research and lay the groundwork to find a cure. Passage of this bill into law would mean that new fibroid treatments and new information about fibroids' causes and development might become available.
The bill has been referred to the House subcommittee on Health, which is chaired by Representative Nathan Deal of Georgia. Other members of this subcommittee are listed on the House of Representatives website. If you are a constituent of any of these Representatives, your input could be particularly timely and influential. You can read the text of the bill or view the bill online.
To write your congressperson in support of this bill, go to Write Your Representative and search for your representative's contact info.
Make a Contribution
Currently, research in women's health lags behind that in men's health by 10 to 15 years. Philanthropic contributions help close this gap and fuel progress at the Center for Uterine Fibroids at Brigham and Women's Hospital, a nationally recognized leader in women's health care. Furthermore, the impact of your investment in the Center for Uterine Fibroids is far-reaching.
Fibroids are benign tumors of the uterus that affect as many as 80% of reproductive age women. They are associated with significant morbidity including abnormal uterine bleeding and anemia, pelvic pain, infertility, spontaneous abortion, and premature labor, and are the most common indication for hysterectomy, accounting for approximately one third of hysterectomies in the United States. However, fibroids have traditionally been understudied by the medical research community and little is known about their cause. For this reason, research at the Center for Uterine Fibroids aims to shed light on the causes of these tumors and to develop better, less-invasive therapies that may benefit women throughout the world.
Although the Center is awarded competitive federal grants each year, such support falls short of the need. Therefore, our ability to launch crucial new studies in our clinics and laboratories depends on the generosity of individuals, foundations, corporations, and other philanthropic institutions.