Last weekend Beth Rosenthal, founder of It’s Just Benign, went to Philadelphia to attend The National Brain Tumor Society (NBTS) Annual Conference, Transforming Tomorrow, Today. The conference was held at the Sheraton University City Hotel in Philadelphia, PA from Thursday, Nov. 3^rd through Sunday, Nov 6^th.

Ms. Rosenthal arrived on Friday ran into Chris Grundner, It’s Just Benign’s NBTS contact.  Ms Rosenthal and Mr. Grunder are pictured to the left.  Mr. Grunder was very helpful to IJB by aiding with the planning for the weekend including help getting IJB setup with an exhibitor table.

At Friday’s Patient & Family Welcome Reception, Ms. Rosenthal spoke to some of the vendors, started speaking to other survivors and of course grabbed some appetizers.  It was an opportunity to meet some really nice people and make connections. The entertainment for the reception was singer/songwriter Chris Stein, a brain tumor survivor.  The reception also included an Art Gallery with stories and photos from people affected by brain tumors as well as Community Video Recording allowing survivors to share their stories.

On Saturday, during the Patient & Family Program, a Resource Center was hosted by NBTS.  The goal of the Resource Center is to give attendees a chance for one-on-one conversations with local and national groups.  One of the groups was It’s Just Benign (IJB), which had a table setup by Ms. Rosenthal and her father - pictured to right.  Content at the table included brochures, tee-shirts, articles on how IJB was started and how it’s helping survivors, and an extensive display on benign brain tumors created by Ms. Rosenthal.

Saturday night Ms. Rosenthal was able to connect with an old friend, Dan, who lives in Philadelphia. He lived across the street from the Art Museum, where the NBTS walk, Race for Hope-Philadelphia, was taking place on Sunday. This gave Ms. Rosenthal a great vantage point to take in the Race for Hope.  There was such a crowd. The energy was awesome.  What a weekend for survivors and for the NBTS!

Ms. Rosenthal’s main focus for the weekend was to connect with other survivors, share info about It’s Just Benign, and to learn how survivors can get help, specifically involving disability, work, etc. There were discussions about current treatments, disability rights, and it finished with two support groups, one for survivors and one for care-givers.

“It was a fantastic conference” Ms Rosenthal commented.  She continued, “Personally, it was a milestone for me. Since I was diagnosed as a child, I have never been as independent as most adults are. I always rely on my parents for financial help, distance driving, planning trips, etc. This was my first weekend doing something that all other 38 year olds do. I drove myself, paid myself, and made decisions about how I was going to spend my weekend.  It was a fantastic weekend and one I won’t soon forget!”

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