Rice, who has just been nominated by President George W. Bush for Secretary of State, recently underwent a fibroid embolization procedure at Georgetown University School of Medicine in Washington. According to the U.S. media, Rice’s aide Jim Wilkinson was quoted as saying that the operation went well and no complications were found afterwards. According to Wilkinson, Rice’s fibroid embolization surgery was completed by the hospital’s interventional radiologist James Spitz, and the entire procedure took an hour and a half, with no surprises during the surgery. As ordered by the doctor, Rice stayed in the hospital room for one night without any discomfort. The following day, the doctor examined Rice in detail again and then agreed that she should go home and rest. Rice had planned to go to work in the office on November 22, but the doctor thought the patient was weak after the surgery and should rest at home for a few more days, so she is currently recuperating at home to prepare for her return to work. It is reported that fibroids are a common gynecological condition that usually does not cause cancer, and about 75% of women in the United States suffer from fibroids but they are not even aware of them. This time, Rice needs to undergo surgery, indicating that the condition has been more serious, because of this, she decided to cancel the plan to go to Chile with Bush to attend the informal meeting of APEC leaders to receive fibroid embolization surgery. The doctor revealed that fibroids are non-cancerous lesions of the uterus, sometimes causing abnormal bleeding, pain and other related symptoms in the uterus, but generally not life-threatening. Compared to hysterectomy, embolization is the least invasive procedure, and patients can recover quickly after surgery with minimal likelihood of recurrence. According to the American medical community, there is no need for women to fear having fibroids, as most patients do not experience severe symptoms and do not require any treatment. By the time menopause is over, fibroids usually shrink naturally. To confirm if fibroids are cancerous, patients can have regular checkups and then go to the hospital for treatment when symptoms appear.