Mother Advocates for Improved Clinical Trial Access After Daughter’s Brain Tumor Diagnosis Whether hiking through trails perched atop twenty-foot cliffs or touching live sharks and stingrays, middle schooler Ava Q.E. was fearless — always volunteering to go first, thanks to her adventurous personality. It was a shock when Ava started repeatedly losing her vision for 5-10 seconds each time she stood up. Her eye doctor ordered an […] September 19, 2023
From College Challenges to Clinical Trials: A Story of Resilience Little did Julia V. know that her troubling symptoms as an undergraduate were a precursor to a life-altering brain tumor diagnosis in college and a profound understanding of the patient experience as a health care professional years later. During her junior year at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, majoring in microbiology and anthropology, Julia […] August 25, 2023
Neuro-oncologist Advocates for Brain Tumor Community at Head to the Hill After three years of attending Head to the Hill virtually due to the pandemic, neuro-oncologist Dr. Nicholas Blondin is counting down the days to the event’s return in person to Capitol Hill this May 8-9. As a neuro-oncologist and the lead principal investigator of GBM AGILE at Yale Cancer Center and Smilow Cancer Hospital, Dr. […] March 27, 2023
Son Advocates on Capitol Hill to Honor Mother Nearly one year after losing his mom to glioblastoma (GBM), Shawn joined his brother and father in D.C. for Head to the Hill 2019. Their experience would prove to be powerful and energizing for their grieving family. “Attending Head to the Hill our first year was all about sharing my mom’s story after she passed […] February 16, 2023
Advocate Pushes for Improved Quality of Life and Increased Research Funding A busy working mom, Jyothi was no stranger to shuttling her two boys around for school and extracurricular activities. Her youngest son, Nitin, began complaining of headaches after playing tennis and also started to experience difficulties blowing to play his clarinet. A pediatrician suggested a CT scan to rule out anything more serious. “It was […] January 31, 2023