Elizabeth Edwards Has Breast Cancer
By RON FOURNIER and RANDOLPH SCHMID
The Associated Press
Updated: 1:04 p.m. ET Nov. 4, 2004
WASHINGTON - Elizabeth Edwards, wife of former Democratic vice presidential candidate John Edwards, was diagnosed with breast cancer the day her husband and Sen. John Kerry conceded the presidential race.
Spokesman David Ginsberg said Mrs. Edwards, 55, discovered a lump in her right breast while on a campaign trip last week. Her family doctor told her Friday that it appeared to be cancerous and advised her to see a specialist when she could.
She put off the appointment until Wednesday so as not to miss campaign time.
The Edwards family went straight to Massachusetts General Hospital from Boston's Faneuil Hall after Kerry and Edwards conceded on Wednesday.
Mrs. Edwards had a needle biopsy performed at the hospital, where Dr. Barbara Smith confirmed the cancer, Ginsberg said.
He said the cancer was diagnosed as invasive ductal cancer. That is the most common type of breast cancer, and can spread from the milk ducts to other parts of the breast or beyond.
More tests were being done to determine how far the cancer has advanced and how to treat it, he said.
Ginsberg said spirits are high at the Edwards household. "Everybody feels good about it, that this is beatable," he said.
Edwards, who leaves his North Carolina Senate seat in January, said in a statement, "Elizabeth is as strong a person as I've ever known. Together, our family will beat this."
The American Cancer Society estimated that nearly 216,000 American women will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year.
Treatments have been getting better. The current five-year survival rate for breast cancer is 87 percent, up from 78 percent in the mid-1980s. About 40,000 women die of breast cancer annually.
Overall, the society says about one in seven women will develop breast cancer in their lifetime.
Invasive ductal cancer accounts for 65 percent to 80 percent of all breast cancers, according to the Merck Manual of Medical Information.
Treatment usually begins with surgery, according to the National Cancer Institute. This could involve removal of the cancer itself and usually nearby lymph nodes. Lumpectomy, just removing the cancerous mass, is becoming more common, though sometimes removal of the whole breast is done.
Surgery can be followed by chemotherapy, radiation or hormone therapy.
Radiation can focus on a cancer site from a machine outside the body or use a radioactive substance placed near the cancer in "seeds" or via needle.
Chemotherapy uses drugs that can stop or slow the growth of cancer that may have spread.
Hormone therapy removes or blocks hormones that can encourage growth of cancer cells.
In early stages of cancer a combination of the drug tamoxifen and hormone therapy is commonly used, the Cancer Institute reports.
The Edwardses married in 1977. They have two daughters, Cate and Emma Claire and a son, Jack. Son Wade died in a 1996 traffic accident.
Mrs. Edwards, born in Jacksonville, Fla., grew up hopscotching between the United States and Japan. She met her future husband at University of North Carolina law school.
She juggled a successful legal career and family for 19 years. Then _ stunned by Wade's death _ she quit work to have more children at an age when many contemporaries were easing toward grandmotherhood.
On the campaign, she dubbed herself the "anti-Barbie," a quick-witted, down-to-earth political wife who connected particularly well with mothers and fathers.
What's funny is the only two people who have responded on this thread the entire day are two of the ones always being accused of being hateful, warmongering, heartless people.
Yet another example of the hypocrisy on this board.
Last edited by Midnyte_Ragebringer on November 4, 2004, 11:38 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Hypocrisy? Hardly. Do I wish her well? Certainly. But I'm not going to go into a corner and cry either.
Now I am still sitting here trying to figure out what you said though.
What's funny is the only two people who have responded oon this thread the entire day are two of the ones all being hateful, warmongering, heartless people.
Mid, get over yourself. Just because you're a bigot doesn't mean you lack compasion.
I'm sorry to hear about this and I hope she pulls through.
Akaran of Mistmoore, formerly Akaran of Veeshan I know I'm good at what I do, but I know I'm not the best.
But I guess that on the other hand, I could be like the rest.
Midnyte_Ragebringer wrote:What's funny is the only two people who have responded oon this thread the entire day are two of the ones all being hateful, warmongering, heartless people.
Yet another example of the hypocrisy on this board.
I know what you were trying to say, but that's not what came out. Instead, you said that you were being a hypocrit.
Anyways, ahhhhhhhhh, I hope she feels better.....happy now retard?
Did you only post your condolences so you could tell everyone else they are heartless and without compassion? There's nothing I can do for her, so why do I need to say "I'm sorry for you, Elizabeth Edwards, get well soon!" as if I have any power? If you posted you call out someone else on the board, then your idea of compassion is sadly skewed.
On the campaign, she dubbed herself the "anti-Barbie," a quick-witted, down-to-earth political wife who connected particularly well with mothers and fathers.
Seriousness of her medical condition aside, I can think of at least one other reason not listed above as to why she would call herself the "anti-Barbie".
On the campaign, she dubbed herself the "anti-Barbie," a quick-witted, down-to-earth political wife who connected particularly well with mothers and fathers.
Seriousness of her medical condition aside, I can think of at least one other reason not listed above as to why she would call herself the "anti-Barbie".
On the campaign, she dubbed herself the "anti-Barbie," a quick-witted, down-to-earth political wife who connected particularly well with mothers and fathers.
Seriousness of her medical condition aside, I can think of at least one other reason not listed above as to why she would call herself the "anti-Barbie".
It's declarations like that that make you look like scum.
On the campaign, she dubbed herself the "anti-Barbie," a quick-witted, down-to-earth political wife who connected particularly well with mothers and fathers.
Seriousness of her medical condition aside, I can think of at least one other reason not listed above as to why she would call herself the "anti-Barbie".
It's declarations like that that make you look like scum.
What did I say? I refer to another reason she'd be dubbed the anti-barbie, like Elizabeth Edwards being intelligent and well travelled in her youth and it makes me look like scum?
Midnyte_Ragebringer wrote:What's funny is the only two people who have responded on this thread the entire day are two of the ones always being accused of being hateful, warmongering, heartless people.
Yet another example of the hypocrisy on this board.
It's funny that the only person to try to bring stinking politics into a best regards thread was from you man. And you were doing so well. I was actually proud of you for a moment.
I am glad they found it early, that usually leads to a quick turn-around. The odds are in her favor, god bless her and her family.
