Chronic Disease + Prevention

COMPLEX CHRONIC DISEASE RESEARCH

There are three of them. And 79% of people affected are women. So why do we still know so little?

Complex Chronic Diseases are, simply put: illnesses that do not get better. They are Fibromyalgia, Chronic Lyme Disease, and Myalgic Encephalomyelitis – commonly known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

Way too often, women suffer in silence. With symptoms like constant pain or fatigue, they’re not visible to doctors the same way acute pain is.

Plus there is still no consensus on the underlying causes, how they progress over time, and optimal treatments. Care is ultimately left up to trial and error. But there is power in evidence. Funding research will allow us to finally ask the right questions that have remained unanswered for too long.

OAK TREE CLINIC

For women, by women: the only women-exclusive HIV+ peer support group in BC.

Oak Tree Clinic provides inter-professional HIV care for women, infants, and youth – supporting over 700 patients annually.

It’s been a world leader for over twenty years. No mother with HIV fully treated by Oak Tree’s drug regimen has given birth to an HIV+ baby.

One initiative that stands out is their ‘for women, by women’ peer support group. It’s entirely funded by our donors. This group represents so much. It’s giving access to community and cultivating relationships. It’s reducing isolation and empowering women. Your support of this dedicated space for women living with HIV is truly immeasurable.