A nurse inserted an intravenous line into Bethany Airel Bugay's right arm, and a saline solution followed by a dose of the chemotherapy drug Vidaza flowed into her blood.

Bugay, 51, of West Mifflin has a rare blood cancer, chronic myelomonocytic leukemia. Five days a month, she undergoes chemotherapy at Jefferson Regional Medical Center in Clairton in preparation for a bone marrow transplant.

She served six months in Iraq in 2003 as an Army Reserves medic attached to the 203rd Military Intelligence Battalion. She ignited "burn pits" as part of her duties. The military and government contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan used burn pits to dispose of a witch's brew of human waste, plastics and chemicals. Some pits covered 10 acres and burned day and night.

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