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The biggest misconception I hear about fibroids is that because they are benign, they are harmless.

When doctors say 'benign' it means non-cancerous, but people often assume it means there is nothing to worry about. 

In reality, fibroids can have a devastating impact on physical health, mental wellbeing, relationships, work and quality of life.

What exactly are fibroids? They are non-cancerous growths made of muscle and fibrous tissue that develop in the womb. They can range in size from as small as a pea to as large as a watermelon.

Fibroids are incredibly common. Around 70 to 80 per cent of women worldwide will develop fibroids by the age of 50, and around two-thirds of women in the UK are thought to be affected. 

Treating fibroids costs the NHS £86 million directly each year, but the loss to the wider economy is up to £1.7billion, according to the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, due to sick days, lost hours, and women leaving work altogether due to severe symptoms.

Yet awareness remains surprisingly low. Many women have never heard of fibroids until they are diagnosed.

Part of the reason is that the symptoms are often normalised.

Women are frequently told that heavy periods, pelvic pain and exhaustion are ‘simply part of being female’. As a result, many spend years struggling with symptoms before discovering that fibroids may be the cause.

Heavy periods that disrupt your life, are one of the most common signs. If you are waking during the night because you are bleeding through protection, avoiding social events because of your period, regularly passing large clots, becoming anaemic, or missing work because of pain or bleeding, this could be connected to fibroids. And it is not something you should simply put up with.

Fibroids can also cause symptoms that you may not immediately connect to your womb.

Depending on their size and location, fibroids can press on surrounding organs. This can make you need to pee more frequently, rush to the toilet, struggle with constipation, and experience bloating, lower back pain or discomfort during sex. 

Many women tell me they assumed these symptoms were related to stress, irritable bowel syndrome or simply getting older. But fibroids are often the culprit.

The impact can often extend far beyond physical symptoms.

Chronic pain, poor sleep, unpredictable bleeding and concerns about fertility can take a significant toll on mental health. Women may withdraw from social activities, avoid travel, struggle at work or feel frustrated by repeated attempts to seek help. Many women need to plan their entire lives around their symptoms.

But what causes fibroids?

We still don’t fully understand why some women develop them and others don’t. What we do know is that genetics play an important role. Fibroids often run in families, and scientists have now identified dozens of genes associated with fibroid development.

Hormones are also involved. Fibroids are more likely to develop during the thirties and forties and often shrink after menopause.

Certain groups of women are at higher risk. Black women are particularly affected, often developing fibroids at a younger age, experiencing larger and more numerous fibroids, and reporting more severe symptoms.

Unfortunately, many of the major risk factors are beyond our control, including age, ethnicity, genetics and our natural hormonal environment.

That said, maintaining a healthy weight, managing metabolic health, ensuring adequate vitamin D levels and eating less highly processed foods may support overall health and potentially reduce risk. 

There is also growing interest in the role of endocrine-disrupting chemicals found in some plastics and personal care products, although more research is needed before firm conclusions can be drawn.

The good news is that treatment options have improved significantly.

One of the biggest frustrations I hear from women is that they are often offered only one or two options when there are actually many different approaches available.

Treatment depends on the size and location of the fibroids, the severity of symptoms, a woman's age, future fertility plans and personal preferences.

Some women with small fibroids which aren’t causing symptoms may simply need monitoring, typically an annual ultrasound scan and a check up on any symptoms. 

Others benefit from medication to control symptoms. There are also minimally invasive procedures that can shrink fibroids without major surgery, as well as surgical options including myomectomy, which removes fibroids while preserving the womb.

Unfortunately, fibroids can come back, even after successful treatment, particularly before menopause.

However, recurrence does not mean treatment has failed. Many women experience years of symptom relief and significant improvements in quality of life.

To remove the risk of recurrence completely, women can have a hysterectomy, which means the whole womb is removed. This will solve the problems caused by fibroids, however, it is a permanent removal of the womb, preventing future pregnancy and can impact you in other ways.

The most important message is this: if symptoms are affecting your daily life, they are worth investigating.

Too many women are told that heavy bleeding, pain and exhaustion are simply something they have to live with. They are not.

Fibroids may be benign, but for millions of women, they are far from harmless.

• Dr Michelle Griffin is a gynaecologist, women's health expert, and author of Fibroids: Everything You Need to Know, From Symptoms to Diagnosis and Beyond (Penguin Random House), RRP £14.99