“HERE we go again.”
Those were the sentiments of former Miss Universe Trinidad and Tobago and former senator Nicole Dyer-Griffith who took to social media to announce her cancer had spread to her brain.
In September 2024, Dyer-Griffith shocked many as she appeared in a video with a bald head to announce she was diagnosed with stage three inflammatory breast cancer in April 2024.
In a video post taken in her vehicle and shared to her social media on March 14, she decided to give the public an update.
Said she had completed her radiation treatment and was taking hormone suppressants. At a medical check-up, she told her doctors she was getting headaches and, just to be safe, an MRI was scheduled for her.
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The former nurse and wife of former police commissioner and National Transformation Alliance political leader Gary Griffith said she got the MRI results a few days before Carnival to learn she has a tumour in her brain.
Smiling and laughing she said, “When I got the news I was like, ‘You cannot be serious. I mean, oh, for crying out loud, good grief! Give a man a break!’”
She said she prayed and the story of Job kept coming to her mind, so she read the account in the Bible. Job was a servant of God who was blessed for his righteousness. He remained faithful to God even as he was tested – he was afflicted by illness, his wealth and children were taken from him, and his wife pressured him to “curse God and die.” He was later rewarded for his faithfulness.
“It speaks to weathering storms and it speaks to your faithfulness, and being tested and really pushing the boundaries and pushing the limits. And in all of that, not losing hope and making sure that your faith is stronger than the tests.”
Dyer-Griffith would have to do surgery and targeted radiation in the coming weeks to address the brain metastasis. She went on to say it was a lot do deal with, but she was up to the challenge.
“It is by my faith that I will be judged. And that will be a testament to God’s grace because it’s only by God’s grace that I can do this and smile and just keep going.”
Her positive attitude was evident as she stepped out on Carnival Tuesday to cross the Queen’s Park Savannah stage with medium mas band K2K Alliance. A message on Facebook said she initially had no intention to play mas this year but her emergence was a statement of defiance and resilience.
She thanked everyone who had kind words and prayers for her and who “lifted her up,” calling them her “family by bond.” She asked them to also pray for her family by blood as many of her relatives were having a difficult time dealing with the situation.
She said they would make the journey together, one step at a time, knowing that they had her back.
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Calls and WhatsApp messages to Dyer-Griffith and Griffith went unanswered.
