Moughan dreamt about serving our country by going overseas to help in the fight
against terrorism.
She almost got her wish, too. Three years ago, the
Westville resident was assigned to an Active Duty tour in Kuwait. But the day
before mobilization, she learned that the ovarian cancer she thought she beat
nearly four years earlier had returned–and in a more virulent form. “My
oncologist had wanted to do one final test to make sure I was still in
remission,” she says. “I was devastated when I found out the
results.”
Moughan was taken off Active Duty and has been receiving
chemotherapy ever since. But through it all, the 37-year old has maintained a
positive attitude, despite undergoing surgeries, including a hysterectomy that
eliminated her other dream of one day having a baby. “I look for humor wherever
I can find it, ” she says. “For example, I like to remind my husband that he is
the luckiest man alive because his wife hasn’t had PMS in over seven
years!”
Even during her initial chemotherapy treatments, Moughan did
not renege on her commitment to the Army and remained an active drilling member
of the Reserves. “I had a special wig that I wore when I lost all of my hair
that was regulation length and able to sustain heavy abuse under combat helmets
and berets,” she says. She went on Annual Training Exercises to Hawaii, Korea
and Japan.
Throughout her maintenance chemotherapy, she sought positions
of higher responsibility. Today Moughan serves as an HHD Commander in the 1st
Battle Command Training Group/2ndBrigade/75th Division in Fort Dix. “I shoot my
M-9 and M-16, I go on Field Training Exercises and I continue my Officer Career
training courses,” says Moughan, who is a computer security professional with a
Department of Defense contractor and is also a graduate student studying
computer security at Penn State. In addition, she has served on the National
Ovarian Cancer Coalition’s Delaware Valley Chapter’s Advisory
Council.
Of course, like anyone fighting ovarian cancer, Moughan, who
shares her home with her husband, two dogs, seven cats and a tropical aquarium,
says there are days when she allows herself to cry. “Living with cancer is a
scary thing. I allow myself a pity party every so often.” Nevertheless, she
vows not to let the disease get her down. Her monthly Army Reserve duty also
goes a long way to help. “When I am in uniform, I am no longer a cancer patient,
I am just another soldier,” she says.
She sums up her circumstances
this way: “Happiness is choosing to be happy. You can be happy even in the worst
circumstances. I love the Army. I’m living a good life.”
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