U.S. researchers say they've identified the molecular trigger of fibroid uterine tumors -- a single stem cell develops a mutation and grows uncontrollably.

The Fibroid Treatment Collective (http://www.fibroids.com) and its founder Bruce McLucas, M.D., are sponsoring the third annual Fibroid Awareness Week, April 23 – 27, 2012. The week is dedicated to spreading the word about fibroids and empowering women around the world to take control. One out of four women over the age of 45 will suffer from fibroids and many will undergo unnecessary hysterectomies. In honor of the week, a number of free events are scheduled to help educate women about the condition and available treatment options.

Jill Heydenburg of Chicago, at 43, was used to being an active woman. She ate nutritious foods, exercised and usually felt great. But then fatigue set in. She'd go to work and go home and go to bed. And she had intermittent bladder pressure.

If you suffer from uterine fibroids and have been told that a hysterectomy is the best treatment for fibroids, it's time to talk to another doctor. A startling number of women undergo hysterectomies (one in three women over sixty has had one!) often to get rid of fibroids.

Researchers have found the first, firm evidence that fibroids are associated with recurrent miscarriages. They have also discovered that if they removed the fibroids that distorted the inside of the womb, the risk of miscarriage in the second trimester of pregnancy was reduced dramatically – to zero.