‘‘I No Longer Have A Uterus’’ Anoushka Shankar Pens Down Emotional Note After Getting Hysterectomy

Daughter of famed classical musician Pandit Ravi Shankar, Anoushka Shankar opens up with her fans on her journey to getting hysterectomy. The Sita player who recently underwent double hysterectomy took to her social media page to share bits of her emotional journey in a note titled, ‘LADY BITS, Swipe to read about why I no longer have a uterus, and why I decided to tell you.”

LADY BITS, by Anoushka Shankar
(Swipe to read about why I no longer have a uterus, and why I decided to tell you) pic.twitter.com/60laJGTWTg

— Anoushka Shankar (@ShankarAnoushka) August 30, 2019

 “As of last month, I no longer have a uterus. I had a double surgery’’ her long note began. A gynaecological-oncologist performed a hysterectomy due to my large fibroids, which made my uterus as big as if it were six months pregnant, and an incredible surgeon removed multiple further tumours from my abdomen (which I blessedly then heard were all benign). One tumour had grown through my muscles and was visibly protruding from my stomach. There were 13 tumours in all.”

 “When I found out a few months ago that I needed to have my uterus taken out, I went into a short-term depression. The news triggered fears about my womanliness, my possible desire to have more children in the future, the fear of dying in surgery and leaving my kids without a mother, the effect the changes may have on my sex life and more. I spoke to friends and family about my news and was shocked to discover how many women had had hysterectomies although I’d never known they had.”

Adding a further encouraging words on the need for women to talk about the problem more, she added, “I wondered why the surgery wasn’t talked about more if it was so common. When I asked, one woman, said in response, ‘Well, we aren’t exactly going to flash our lady-bits everywhere, are we?’”

“I look back and grieve for my younger self and all the girls I knew, for how much we were expected to cope with in silence. I’ve always thought of myself as someone who comfortably shares most thoughts and experiences. Yet I look back and realise I allowed my internalised embarrassment and shame around sexual health, and my period, in particular, to remain unchallenged all these years,” she wrote.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Anoushka Shankar shared the long note with her fans in a note titled, ‘LADY BITS’
• The note discusses detailed journey about her battle with abdominal tumours.
• Anoushka is the daughter of music icon Pandit Ravi Shankar