DAYTON — May is Brain Tumor Awareness Month and a Dayton woman just got back from Washington D.C. after meeting with lawmakers to share her story and be an advocate for others.
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News Center 7′s Xavier Hershovitz said Billi Ewing was dealing with some vision issues in 2013. She was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2014 wrapped around her optic nerve.
It was her own worries after her diagnosis that inspired her to share her story with others so they know they are not alone.
Hershovitz says Ewing was in D.C. this week for the National Brain Tumor Society Annual Day of Advocacy.
She also met with lawmakers to share her personal story and ways they can help those battling a brain tumor.
“If we don’t talk about it, then you don’t know. It’s our responsibility to talk about it,” said Ewing. “I can’t expect you to know. May is Brain Tumor Awareness Month without letting you know it’s Brain Tumor Awareness Month.”
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Hershovitz says she felt alone after the diagnosis and now shares her story so others know they are not alone in a battle like this.
Ewing shared her story and advocacy with lawmakers and in the brain tumor community. She says their goal is to first survive, but then to thrive.
“The surviving part is getting through the day-to-day,” she explained. “The thriving part is when you can take that pain, turn it into a purpose and do something about it to help somebody else. So, I’m a brain tumor thriver, not just a survivor.”
Hershovitz says Ewing wants people to understand that when you are diagnosed with a brain tumor, there is a nationwide community that rallies around you.