THE FIBROID TT JOURNEY...

​

The genesis of Fibroid Awareness Trinidad & Tobago (formerly Fibroid Awareness Campaign Tobago-FACT), is inextricably linked to its Founder's diagnosis with Uterine Fibroids at the age of 20 in 2006. Korice AQ Nancis eventually opted to treat the fibroids  via a myomectomy (open surgery to remove fibroids) and this was successfully on January 23rd, 2014. As she lay on her recovery bed at the hospital, the idea to utilise Facebook as a repository of information and to create a safe online 'community' came to mind and she immediately began mapping the way forward. 
 

It must be noted that after her diagnosis at the age of 20, she quickly became obsessed with learning as much as she could about her specific condition and it was at this juncture she realised that information was difficult to find. She was not satisfied with the advice to watch and wait and she also found that there was no support group or organisation in Jamaica, where she had just migrated to in pursuit of tertiary education; neither was there one in Tobago or Trinidad, her home country.

 

This experience motivate her to initially conceptualise and implement Fibroid Awareness Campaign Tobago for her final year project as a communications student at the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus and as her personal journey progressed - from diagnosis to surgery- it became more apparent that many women were under-informed and suffering in silence.  As such, she committed to employing new media to provide facts and create awareness about fibroids, diagnosis, treatment options and the importance of lifestyle change to better cope and even heal.

Today, the movement has grown and evolved into Fibroid Awareness Trinidad and Tobago and the commitment to advocacy and awareness remains.