WASHINGTON - As the debate over health care reform heats up, one woman is telling her story about a frustrating fight with an insurance company.

She's in Washington Tuesday and Wednesday to meet with lawmakers and share her story. She says a public option would help her and thousands of others see the specialized doctors they need to survive.

She says she wouldn't have to deal with the denials from insurance companies -- something she's seen nine times in the past two years.

Dawn Smith, 33, says she's battled her insurance provider -- health insurance giant Cigna. "They were not there for me. They did not live up to their end of the bargain," she said. "There nights where I wonder if I'm going to see the morning."

In 2005, doctors found a brain tumor in Smith. Two years later, they discovered another one. They are treatable tumors but at this point, Smith has yet to undergo treatment. She's only had a biopsy and been prescribed pain medication for the shooting pain she experiences daily through her body.

Her hope is at the Cleveland Clinic, a place Cigna denied her because it's out of network. At this point, she can't be seen there unless she pays on her own.

"My savings are gone. I have nothing left," said Smith.

Since her diagnosis, not only has Smith received letters denying her coverage, she's now paying double her pre-illness monthly premium -- $753.

"As sad as my story is, it's not the worst. It's not even the worst," she said.

Fighting Cigna alone got Smith nowhere so she joined forced with Moveon.org and took her story to YouTube. She's found that she's not alone and has met others with different illnesses but the same battle.

"You shouldn't have to fight to battle the illness and battle the insurance companies at the same time. Both of those are full time jobs," she said.

Smith is heading to Philadelphia on Thursday -- hoping to be granted a one-on-one with Cigna's CEO and tell him what he can do to make sure no one else experiences her story.

In a statement to ABC 7 News Cigna said, "They have approved and covered many diagnostic tests for services for the evaluation and treatment of her benign and stable brain tumor by a prominent medical center in her hometown."

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