'I no longer have a uterus', Sitar player Anoushka Shankar pens a long note after getting a hysterectomy

Sitar player and music composer Anoushka Shankar took to her social media pages and penned a note wherein she spoke about getting a hysterectomy. She started her note by stating, "As of last month, I no longer have a uterus. I had a double surgery: 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."

Anoushka went on to write about how she slipped into a short-term depression when she got to know that her uterus needed to be taken out. She further wrote, "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."

The iconic musician went on to write, "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?""

Anoushka also shared, "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."

(Inputs from Twitter)

(Photos via Instagram)