DAYTON — May marks Brain Tumor Awareness Month and a local woman is sharing her story to spread awareness.
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The American Brain Tumor Association said about 90,000 people face a brain tumor diagnosis every year.
One of those people is Billi Ewing from Montgomery County. This year marks 11 years since Ewing became a brain tumor survivor.
“What is not shared with us is what life is like after your brain tumor,” she said.
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Since becoming a survivor, she’s made it her mission to share her story with others dealing with that diagnosis.
“If you find yourself with this diagnosis, the resources and support that is out here, nationally, locally, regionally,” Ewing said. “We are here, they are here, but people just don’t know.”
As reported on News Center 7 at 5:30, Ewing has taken her advocacy to Washington, D.C., serving as an Ohio delegate with the National Brain Tumor Society’s annual “Head to the Hill” event.
“Those are the three days that a person may get out of the whole year, that they don’t have to explain what they’re feeling,” she explained.
Some of the time is spent connecting with other survivors and the family members of those who died because of their brain tumor.
“There’s somebody new every year, and you hear these heart-wrenching stories about how people’s lives have been changed forever,” she said.
The event also includes time at Capitol Hill, meeting with lawmakers.
Ewing met with both the offices of Ohio senators, as well as the office of Congressman Mike Turner, putting a human connection to keep in mind when making decisions.
“We have to explain why brain tumors and brain cancers need to be a separate line item, and so it is our responsibility to make them understand why,” Ewing said.
In her push to raise awareness, Ewing takes one of her biggest challenges to make a difference.
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