After experiencing another health scare, actress Sharon Stone is encouraging women to follow their Basic Instinct and “get a second opinion”.
On Tuesday, November 1, the 64-year-old actress took to social media to open up about her health and her body’s trauma after she had undergone the wrong procedure for a tumour that needed to be removed.
— Sharon Stone (@sharonstone) November 1, 2022
“Just had another misdiagnosis and incorrect procedure,” Stone wrote in a message to Twitter, sharing how she had two epidurals but still had “worsening pain”.
After going for a second opinion, Stone learned that she had a “large fibroid tumour that must come out”.
According to the NHS, a fibroid tumour or uterine myoma is a “non-cancerous growth that develops in or around the womb”. These growths vary in size and are typically benign, but in some cases, fibroids need to be removed if they cause anemia from heavy fibroid bleeding and lead to ongoing back and abdominal pain.
Stone is now strongly encouraging women to take action when it comes to their health as she also tweeted a link to a study titled Women More Likely Than Men to Suffer Misdiagnosis, According to Studies, asking that they take the time to read the article.
Despite looking like the epitome of health and graceful ageing, Stone doesn’t have the best health history.
In 2001, Stone suffered a near-fatal brain haemorrhage and stroke which ultimately led her to shift her views on cosmetic procedures.
“I had to have over 300 shots of Botox and filler to make the one side of my face come up again,” she told Vogue Arabia.
The Golden Globe award-winning actress then explained how her stroke made her realise these procedures went from being a “cute luxury to some kind of massive, painful neurological need”.
However, Stone’s health nightmares didn’t end there. After undergoing surgery to remove benign tumours the actress woke up and found her breasts had been enlarged without her consent because her doctor thought she “would look better with bigger, ‘better’ boobs”.
She has since gotten the implants removed and has become a vocal advocate for women’s health.
In 2019, Stone appeared as a keynote speaker at the Women’s Brain Health Initiative where she opened up about her brain hemorrhage and the complications she had dealing with male doctors.
“When I was in the hospital, they thought I was faking it. On day nine of my brain bleed, they told me they were going to send me home because they thought I was faking it … Now I feel usually much safer with a female doctor,” she said.
“I still go to some male doctors, but when I get dismissed then I usually go to a woman in any practice. When I get dismissed, I think, ‘Oh, I need to go to a woman because I need to see someone who is going to see me and experience me and discuss what is happening with me.’
“And they can tell me if they truly believe me, if I’m okay or not okay, but I’m not going to be dismissed ever again.”
In her 2021 memoir The Beauty of Living Twice, Stone also revealed that she suffers from an autoimmune disease and endometriosis which caused her to suffer through nine miscarriages before adopting her three sons.