Twenty to 80 percent of middle age women have fibroids but many are unaware mainly because they have no symptoms.  Health reporter Erin Billups takes a look at what fibroids are and when it may be a good time to explore options to get rid of them.

It's estimated up to 80 percent of black women and 70 percent of white women develop uterine fibroids by the age of 50 - a noncancerous tumor that grows in the uterus.

"It's a growth of cells. So one of those cells starts to go haywire and doesn't grow with the rest of its fellow cells the way it should and just starts to keep growing and growing," explains Dr. Scott Chudnoff, Director of Gynecology at Montefiore Medical Center.

Many women have no symptoms at all, but some do. They include changes in menstrual cycle like more unpredictable bleeding, painful periods, frequent bathroom trips, pain during sex, and feeling full in the lower belly.

Dr. Chudnoff says if you're experiencing symptoms to get checked, especially if you hope to conceive in the future.

"As you get older, the likelihood that you will grow fibroids and get larger fibroids increases. That sometimes waiting until your 40s is not always the most advisable thing," he says.

Kimberly Carr sought help after she began to experience pain and increased bleeding years after giving birth.

"It caused me a great deal of anxiety because, you know, I never knew when to expect it and what to expect. After one pretty bad episode my primary care physician at that time said, 'Oh you should get a hysterectomy.' And I knew enough to know that is not what you should tell me," Carr recalls.

Over the past decade or so there has been a lot of innovation surrounding fibroid removal.

Carr wanted to avoid having her uterus taken out because it could force her into early menopause. She found Dr. Chudnoff who performed a procedure that used radiofrequency to heat up and kill her tumors.

"I feel awesome, awesome. I'm really glad the technology has kind of shifted in a way that allows me to get access to things that are more beneficial in the long run," says Carr.

There are several other options to go over with your gynecologist, all with pros and cons, like breaking the fibroids into little pieces with a morcellator which the FDA warned recently could potentially spread cancer.