Breast cancer does not deter this trooper's Iraq duty

AP:

Staff Sgt. Elizabeth Cowie's mission - and dream - of serving in Iraq almost ended before it began when tests on a tumor confirmed the worst: She had breast cancer.

Her Army National Guard unit was told earlier this year it would deploy to Iraq this summer. But an Army-mandated mammogram in April revealed a tumor in her right breast that was later found to be cancerous.

The 42-year-old mother of two from Los Angeles is again poised for duty after an aggressive treatment plan - including a May 22 lumpectomy, a second surgery a week later and a five-day targeted radiation treatment. Staying behind wasn't an option, she said.

"The commander said, 'Are you sure? You have an opportunity to go home and be with your family and go through this.' And I said, 'No, I have a family here. I have my civilian family, but this is where I need to be and where I'm needed,'" Cowie said.

She will leave later this month with the 1113th Transportation Company of San Jose, Calif., for at least a year transporting supplies in Iraq. The 150-member unit is currently training at Camp Atterbury, 30 miles south of Indianapolis.

...

Cowie's mother, Pearl Cowie of Moorhead, Minn., isn't surprised that her daughter, who was stationed in the United Arab Emirates during the Persian Gulf War, still wants to deploy.

"I knew this would not deter her. She was just determined to go. That's the kind of person she is," Pearl Cowie said.

Sgt. Juan Padilla, 37, of Riverside, Calif., said Cowie's decision to go to Iraq inspired the 1113th as it prepares to deploy.

"If she can go through all of that, through cancer and just wanting to go after all that, we can overcome anything," he said. "That's going to keep everybody's morale up."

The dedication to duty of our troops should be an inspiration to everyone. As Democrats and liberals look for ways to avoid winning this war, we are fortunate to have people like Staff Sgt. Elizabeth Cowie. God speed to her on her mission.