Elizabeth Edwards

Taking a tour of historic Oaklawn Cemetery in Raleigh, North Carolina, the caretaker and I paused in front of the grave of a teenage boy who had died in a car accident.

“His dad is a U.S. Senator and he and his wife come here almost every day when they’re in town,” he told me.

I didn’t know who Wade Edwards was – or who his father was – until John Edwards became the running mate of the Democratic presidential candidate Senator John Kerry during the last presidential election. After making the connection, I often pondered how even the most glamorous and successful lives can have their awful tragedies.

And I was reminded of this once more, when the beautiful and gracious Elizabeth Edwards, 58, an attorney and committed spouse of John Edwards who is a current contender for the Democratic presidential nomination, spoke this March about how her breast cancer had reoccurred and had now spread to her bones.

There were no tears when Edwards spoke, just a bright smile and, so apparent to all, a resolve to keep going and not give in.

“I expect to do next week all the things I did last week. And the week after that, and next year at the same time,” Edwards said at the time as she described herself as optimistic about the future.

Edwards had been moving shelves in the family’s new home near Chapel Hill when she felt a strain. Shortly after, her husband gave her “a big hug that felt uncomfortable,” she recalled. “I wrenched away, and he immediately heard
a pop.”

X-rays showed that the cancer had returned. Dr. Lisa A. Carey, an oncologist at the University of North Carolina who has treated Edwards for several years, told reporters that the diagnosis was metastatic Stage 4 cancer. Stating that Edwards’ cancer was largely confined to the bones, she also said that the cancer was not curable and that no surgery could treat it. Edwards, who underwent treatment for breast cancer shortly after her husband lost his vice presidential bid in 2004, stated her determination to continue being active in her husband’s campaign. Indeed, a quick search on the Internet shows how busy she remains.

Elizabeth Edwards on the campaign trail. Photo by Rachel Feierman.

“As somebody who has been through this, Elizabeth Edwards is setting a powerful example for a lot of people, and a good and positive one,” said Tony Snow, the White House press
secretary who also is battling cancer. “She's being aggressive. She's living an active life.”

But the Edwards have always lived active and purpose driven lives. Both graduates of University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s law school, they married in 1977, worked as attorneys and had two children, Wade and Catharine. After the death of their son in 1996, they had two more children, now ages nine and seven. Edwards juggles home life with campaigning and, of course, managing her treatment.

“I'm absolutely ready for this,” she said when talking about the prospect of chemotherapy and medication. “I don't look sickly, I don't feel sickly. I'm ready as any person can be for this.”

The Edwards believe that people who have cancer shouldn’t have to worry about not having insurance. It’s one of their campaign issues. And interestingly enough, that is the current campaign of the American Cancer Society as well.

“Ninety-five thousand women in this state are uninsured,” Edwards said in a campaign stop. “And if you are uninsured, you are 30% to 50% more likely to die of breast cancer.”

Edwards discusses her first bout of cancer in her autobiography, Saving Graces as well as the loss of her son. Her book also talks about the value of people – family and friends – coming together to support each other. And she practices what she preaches.

Just an hour after Robin Roberts, co-anchor of Good Morning America, made her on-air announcement that she had breast cancer, she received a call from Edwards.

“That conversation was so enlightening, so comforting, her words, her experiences, the fact that she took the time,” Roberts told People magazine. “She knew how difficult it was to make it public.”