Lupita Nyong’o revealed that she struggles with painful fibroids — undergoing surgery to have them removed — as she announced a new research grant to fund research on treatment for the common, but debilitating condition.

Nyong’o, 42, first discovered she had uterine fibroids in 2014, the same year she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her debut film, 12 Years of Slave. As she shared in an Instagram post on July 15, she had 30 fibroids and underwent surgery to remove them.

Nyong’o wrote that she asked her doctor if there’s any way she can prevent them, and was told “it’s only a matter of time until they grow again.” As she pointed out in her post, “8 out of 10 Black women and 7 out of 10 white women will experience fibroids. Yet we speak so little of them.” 

Over a younger photograph of herself, the Wild Robot voice actress added the caption, “When we reach puberty, we’re taught that periods mean pain, and that pain is simply part of being a woman.” She shared that once she began “talking about my experience privately,” she realized that “so many women are going through this. We’re struggling alone with something that affects most of us.”

“No more suffering in silence!” she wrote. “We need to stop treating this massive issue like a series of unfortunate coincidences. We must reject the normalization of female pain. I envision a future with early education for teenagers, better screening protocols, robust prevention research, and less invasive treatments for uterine fibroids.”

She concluded by urging others to “study women’s health and prioritize this chronic condition.”

The star has teamed up with the Foundation for Women’s Health for the FWH x Lupita Nyong’o Uterine Fibroid Research Grant, which will work to develop “minimally invasive, or non-invasive treatments, for uterine fibroids“ to reduce symptoms and improve quality of life for the 15 million patients suffering from this chronic condition in the U.S. alone.”