My Congresswoman is Amazing - reveals cancer battle

This morning I awoke to breaking news that my Congresswoman, Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) has secretly been battling cancer over the last year.

The Miami Herald wrote:

"The Broward County Democrat and mother of three told The Miami Herald on Saturday that she successfully battled breast cancer for the past year and is going public with her story in the hope of alerting young women to its prevalence. She'll introduce legislation Monday that calls for a national education campaign targeting women between 15 and 39.

In the past year, she underwent seven major surgeries, including a double mastectomy and reconstructive surgery, while balancing motherhood, Congress and her roles as a chief fundraiser for House Democrats and a political surrogate, first for Hillary Clinton and then for Barack Obama."

Having worked for the Congresswoman in the summer of 2007, I can tell you that she is in private everything she is in public: energetic, passionate, and a forceful advocate for the Democratic agenda in Congress. The fact that she has been able to fight off this cancer battle while continuing to maintain her very public persona is an extraordinary testament to the vitality and drive of this inspiring woman. As I learned of her cancer battle today, I thought of the reception I saw her at only months ago in Washington the weekend of the Presidential Inauguration, and how hard she was working the room, making time to engage every constituent who wanted a moment of her attention. It is hard to believe that she was up and working like that only weeks after such major surgery. Debbie Wasserman Schultz is really a remarkable person whose strength of character should be an inspiration to us all. May God bless her with good health and good fortune as she continues her work on the behalf of her constituents and the people of the United States.