12:49 PM CST on Friday, January 27, 2006

By DEBBIE DENMON / WFAA-TV

WFAA

Alicia Jackson fears she won't have children

Some 15 to 20 percent of women of reproductive age usually have fibroid tumors; as many as 20 to 40 percent of women age 35 and over can have significant problems.

Sometimes it takes more than a pelvic exam to detect the problem.

One Dallas woman went to three different doctors but the problem still went untreated. Now she may never experience motherhood.

Alicia Jackson, 37, tries to put on a happy face.

But, cosmetics cannot camouflage her pain and frustration.

"I've gotten to the point right now that I'm so fed up with cycles being at any time 9 to 14 days long and painful."

It's been worse. She suffered from depression and anemia when she stayed on her menstrual cycle for three months.

"It angers me very much that I was misdiagnosed for three years," she says.

Dr. Nahisa Ahmed quickly diagnosed the cause of Alicia's problem - a problem six out of her 10 patients experience.

"It is very common, it's extremely common. So, people need to know if they have some abnormal bleeding there is a reason for it. People just don't have irregular bleeding for the heck of it," said Dr. Ahmed.

Alicia's stomach resembles that of a four-month pregnant woman.

Because of how fast the fibroids are growing and where they are located, Dr. Ahmad fears Alicia may have trouble having a baby.

Unwelcome news to a single lady and an only child who has dreamed of having one since she was a girl.

"I feel like a failure, because I feel like my mom is getting older and I've wanted to give her a grandchild and I haven't had the opportunity to do it and it's like they may be taking away the opportunity from me."

"It is quite hard to tell 'look you don't have much time, time is running out so please if you really want to have a baby you need to do something soon,'" said Dr. Ahmed.

"I just made the decision that the surgery is best for me right now and I'm just going to have to take my chances on the outcome of the surgery and go from there," said Alicia.

Dr. Ahmad is giving Alicia a shot to significantly shrink the tumors before performing an invasive surgery called a myomectomy - a procedure to remove as many tumors as possible.

"But, the bad part about tumors is they can always come back and so I'm still going to be on a time crunch as far as having a child within a certain period of time - this is basically buying me time," Alicia added.

And, giving her hope that one day she too will have a bundle of joy and earn a spot on Dr. Ahmad's hall of fame.