Fibroid awareness foundation to educate girls, women

Korice Nancis, 33, has started a foundation to sensitise girls and women about fibroids, a condition that affects women across the world.

Nancis, who suffered with fibroids as a young woman, until she was diagnosed at the age of 20, and eventually had surgery, launched the Fibroid Awareness Trinidad and Tobago Foundation on August 30 with the theme, ‘Destiny in Motion,’ at Bliss Restaurant and Lounge in Scarborough.

In an address at the event, Nancis promised the Foundation would be unique on the reproductive health landscape of TT in that it was dedicated exclusively to sensitising girls and women and the wider society about fibroids as well as other uterine issues, She said the Foundation would be actively supporting girls and women impacted by fibroids and engaging in advocacy and women’s and reproductive health social outreach.

“I had a deeply harrowing experience with fibroids which unknowingly negatively affected my quality of life since my teenage years… I was able to eventually overcome, and I am now seeking to empower girls and other women.

“Education is very important, so that girls and women could have confidence, control of their bodies and then they can make the right choices, whether its lifestyle changes or seek the requisite medical attention… Education is critical to empowerment and making the right choices about self and health,” she said.

Nancis has already begun an initiative, “The Confidence Project TT: Reproductive Health in Focus,” with a pilot phase held on June 11-15.

This was also the final phase of a community solutions fellowship held by Nancis, and which was hosted by the US Department of State. During the year-long fellowship, Nancis’ training focused on women and gender issues, after which she visited schools throughout Tobago, engaging with over 200 students and teachers to educate them on positive lifestyle changes to reduce risk, as well as steps to take for earlier diagnosis of fibroids.

She said that limited information on fibroids coupled with cultural inaccuracies and beliefs continue to cause women in TT to self-diagnose their condition but she hoped that the Foundation would herald a new era in women healthcare across the nation.

“Many women suffer in silence for years without seeking treatment or making simple lifestyle choices that can drastically improve their quality of life. Through Fibroid Awareness Trinidad and Tobago, we will engage society, educate and empower girls and women, advocate and provide emotional and financial support where possible. We will transform the reproductive health landscape of Trinidad & Tobago,” declared Nancis.

Present at the launch were Minister of State in the Office of the Prime Minister and MP for Tobago East, Ayanna Webster-Roy, US Consul and Embassy Liaison to Tobago, Susan L’Ecuyer, Chief Executive Officer of the Tobago Regional Health Authority (TRHA) Ingrid Melville and University of the Southern Caribbean’s lecturer and Psychologist, Akilah Riley-Richardson.

Addressing the event, Webster-Roy said a 2012 study by The University of the West Indies Department of Behavioural Sciences revealed that fibroids were the most common tumours found in women between the ages of 25 and 64 in TT, and affect a larger proportion of the country’s women than cancer and HIV/AIDS.

She congratulated Nancis on the launch of the Foundation.

The Foundation would be hosting bi-monthly support meetings for girls and women, as well as ongoing school and community outreach in both Tobago and Trinidad, and plans to partner with members of its US-Based network to host a comprehensive Reproductive Health Conference in May 2019.