25-year old Tiisetso Lekgetho experiences painful periods with heavy bleeding that keeps her home two or three days a month, unable to look for work or go about her normal life.

Lekgetho, from Tsetse village outside Mahikeng in the North West, has multiple uterine fibroids. She has been waiting for surgery at Bophelong Provincial Hospital since last year. 

“The hardest part was waiting this long, it is affecting me every day” Lekgetho says. 

Her operation is now scheduled for 11 November.

“Some days the bleeding is so heavy I can’t leave the house. I can’t look for work properly because I never know when I’ll be down for days. It’s draining me physically and mentally.”

Lekgetho’s experience highlights the impact of painful and heavy periods on some women’s everyday lives when treatment is delayed.

Fibroids are non-cancerous growths that develop in or around the uterus. They can cause heavy menstrual bleeding, pelvic or abdominal pain and bladder problems.

Recent research from southern Africa shows the impact can extend far beyond the physical symptoms.

A 2024 study of 60 women diagnosed with uterine fibroids in Eswatini found that participants experienced physical, psychological, emotional and social challenges. Women reported abnormal bleeding and abdominal pain, while some missed work and other activities because of their symptoms. 

Participants also raised concerns about delayed diagnosis and surgery. 

Months waiting for surgery

Lekgetho says since 2024 she had been experiencing severe lower abdominal pain, painful periods, frequent urination and fatigue for almost a year. She says she went to her local clinic in October last year.

“I first started experiencing pains on my lower abdomen, my periods would be painful. I then went to the clinic to ask for a referral letter,” she says.

She was referred to Bophelong Provincial Hospital on 23 October 2025 and diagnosed with fibroids on 19 November.

“At Bophelong Provincial Hospital, they did a CT scan then found I have fibroids,” she says.

Lekgetho was placed on a waiting list for a myomectomy, an operation to remove fibroids while leaving the uterus in place.

She says she returned to the hospital in February this year. She was told she would have to wait another three months. Her surgery was expected to take place in May.

“I was told the hospital staff will phone me to confirm my operation for May 26th 2026 and I didn’t get any call,” she says.

When Lekgetho returned after 26 May, she says she was told the theatre had been booked for emergencies. Lekgetho says hospital staff also told her that other patients ahead of her on the waiting list were also still waiting for their operations.

This is not the first time patients at Bophelong Provincial Hospital have faced lengthy waits for surgery. 

In June 2025, Health-e News reported that operations at the hospital had repeatedly been postponed because of staff shortages. The North West Department of Health confirmed at the time that an average of 45 scheduled operations were cancelled during April and May 2025.

Department spokesperson Tshegofatso Mothibedi said at the time that the hospital was experiencing a shortage of theatre nurses following retirements, resignations and sick leave. 

The department said it planned to recruit more nurses and increase theatre times to address the backlog.

More than a year later, Lekgetho says she is also waiting for surgery at the hospital. Her operation is now scheduled for 11 November.

“Having fibroids has been a painful experience because even your body changes,” she says.

The North West Department of Health did not respond to questions from Health-e News about the reason for Lekgetho’s postponements, the current surgical waiting list at  Bophelong Provincial Hospital or whether the earlier theatre staffing problems have been resolved.

Turning to traditional remedies

Lekgetho is unemployed and receives a R370 Social Relief of Distress grant.

She says she has only been given painkillers at Bophelong Hospital while she waits for surgery. She says she has not been tested for anaemia, despite experiencing heavy bleeding and fatigue.

Lekgetho says the pain medication provides some relief but does not take the pain away completely.

She has since started using traditional remedies bought in town, including a liquid concoction that costs R50 and herbal leaves sold as “womb tea”.

“I’ve even resorted to traditional medicinal concoctions sold in town to try and remedy the pains and the fibroids,” she says.

“The traditional medicinal concoction I drink each day in the morning only and it’s sold in a 2-litre bottle. There is also a womb tea which I have bought to help with fibroids.”

Lekgetho does not know what ingredients are in the remedies and has not told her healthcare providers that she is taking them.

Traditional remedies also emerged in the Eswatini research. Some participants reported trying traditional medicines and other non-medical products before returning to medical or surgical treatment when their symptoms persisted.  

“The pills from the clinic help a little, but they don’t take the pain away completely,” says Lekgetho.

‘I can’t really function’

For 26-year-old Oemelenna Jabanyane from Mosiane View in Mahikeng, painful periods had been part of her life for years.

But she did not know she had fibroids.

Jabanyane says she was diagnosed late last year during a check-up at Victoria Private Hospital after her period pain became increasingly severe.

“I’ve always had period pains and now they are worse. I can’t really function on the first two days of my monthlies because of the pain,” she says.

“I was doing my internship last year and they used to send me back home because of them. They’re negatively affecting me. I really can’t do anything and I can’t work when it’s that time of the month.”

The diagnosis surprised her.

“The doctor told me that it seems I have been having them [fibroids] for a long time and I wasn’t aware of it,” she says.

Jabanyane, who is studying at North-West University, says she also misses lectures when the pain is severe.

Unlike Lekgetho, Jabanyane says she has chosen to get surgery in the private sector even though she does not have medical aid cover, after hearing about reports of long waiting delays at public health facilities in the province.

“My parents asked me about the option I’m willing to take between private and public. And I opted for private,” she says.

A quotation from Victoria Private Hospital that Jabanyane provided to Health-e News, estimates the total cost to be between R62 600 and R65 000. This includes R35 000 in hospital costs, as well as fees for the doctor, anaesthetist and assistant.

Jabanyane is now trying to save the money for surgery.

North West Health Department

The North West Department of Health did not respond to follow-up questions from Health-e News about postponed surgeries or the length of the surgical waiting list at Bophelong Provincial Hospital.

The department was also asked what treatment is provided to women experiencing severe fibroid symptoms while waiting for surgery.

Lekgetho says she’s trying to stay hopeful until November, but the wait feels endless. 

“I just want the operation so I can get my life back. I want to work, to be active, to not plan my whole month around my period and the pains.”