Tia Mowry says she began to notice a trend in Black women having poor experiences with physicians after her endometriosis diagnosis in 2006.
The Family Reunion star recalls spending years being improperly treated for debilitating abdominal pains.
“I was on this long journey trying to figure out what was wrong with me and I just felt like my symptoms weren’t being taken very seriously,” Mowry shares with InStyle. “And the more I hear of these stories from women of color, it’s crazy how I was not alone. I was passed from doctor to doctor.”
Endometriosis occurs when the lining of the uterus grows outside of the womb and can affect more than 11 percent of American women between the ages of 15 and 44, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office on Women’s Health (OWH).
The 42-year-old recalls feeling “relieved, like finally somebody’s listening to me,” after she was correctly diagnosed by an African American doctor.
Mowry’s diagnosis inspired her brand, Anser, which sells healthy vitamin supplements for women and men of all ages, including children. The line was recently expanded with Women’s Multivitamin Gummies, Hair, Skin & Nails Gummies, and Heart Beets Super Food Powder for heart health.
“I wanted to make sure that I came out with a product that focused on heart health, number one,” she says. “Unfortunately for women in general, [especially] African American women, cardiovascular health is something that we really, really need to put a spotlight on. It’s the number one cause of death for women. Then we have a high percentage of cardiovascular issues in our African American community.”
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