Posted on 03/22/2007 10:56:30 AM PDT by Kaslin
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) - John Edwards said Thursday his wife's cancer has returned, but said he will continue his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination.
"The campaign goes on. The campaign goes on strongly," Edwards told reporters, his wife by his side.
The recurrence of the cancer—this time on Elizabeth Edwards' bone—presents a setback for the couple, both personally and politically. But both said they would stick with their plans to campaign vigorously for the nomination.
"From our perspective, there was no reason to stop," Edwards said. "I don't think we seriously thought about it."
Edwards had canceled a Tuesday evening house party in Iowa to go with his wife to a doctor's appointment, which his campaign described as a follow-up to a routine test she had Monday.
Faced with questions about how his wife's illness affected his political future, Edwards said he will pursue his second bid for the presidency, but: "Any time, any place I need to be with Elizabeth I will be there—period."
Mrs. Edwards, 57, was first diagnosed with cancer in the final weeks of the 2004 campaign. The day after Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry and Edwards, his running mate, conceded the election to George W. Bush, Edwards announced that his wife had invasive ductal cancer, the most common type of breast cancer, and would undergo treatment.
Mrs. Edwards underwent several months of radiation and chemotherapy for the lump in her breast. Her husband's campaign has said she had recovered from the illness.
"I don't look sickly, I don't feel sickly. I am as ready as any person can be for that," she said at the news conference.
John Edwards said a biopsy of her rib had showed that the cancer had returned.
The bone is one of the most common places where breast cancer spreads, and once it does so it is not considered curable.
But how long women survive depends on how widespread the cancer is in the bone, and many can survive for years. The longer it takes for cancer to spread after the initial tumor, the better the prognosis. She was diagnosed in 2004.
Chemotherapy and radiation are standard treatments, along with use of drugs that specifically target the bones called bisphosphonates. Other treatments include hormone therapy if the cancer is responsive to estrogen.
Dr. Lisa Carey, Elizabeth Edwards' physician, said that initial tests showed some very small suspicious spots elsewhere, but that the therapy focus would be on the bone. Asked where else, she said "possibly involving the lung."
Don't blame Jonah!
It was written by Andrew of the Sacred Heart, Sullivan who had Edwards a saint for quitting and then a saint for not quitting.
Sounds like he's using the cancer as a basis for getting attention. Why announce it, and then say it's not going to change your plans to run?
If we're voting for "tools", I'll stick with the execrable, catty and juvenile Andrew Sullivan.
I hope for his poor wife's sack that Johnny hasn't P*ssed off all the doctors after suing them his entire "career".
"I don't think we seriously thought about it."
Then shame on him. Not to put political ambition second to the health of one's spouse, particularly when they have adopted two young children, is reprehensible. The nation does not need him as much as his wife and children do.
OMG...It's on the bone. That is really not good. Prayers for the family.
The more Democrat buffoons that are out there running for President, the more obvious the pattern will become.
Victimhood and tragedy are states of blessedness in the liberal mind, so I expect Comrade Edwards to get a bump in the polls from this.
I feel bad for the Edwards' however, a promise is a promise. I've known plenty of cancer patients and not a one wanted anything to change in their family routines. It takes a special loved one to look beyond this and do what is necessary to remove as much stress as possible. There is no way he can run for President with two very young children and a huge country estate to manage. The stress cannot be denied. What a shame he thinks the country needs him more than his wife and family does. True character show its face at times like this. Shame on John Edwards. A better man would have dropped out without question.
He's a very selfish man.
Good thing Sullivan never has to reread anything he previously wrote. Otherwise he might realize just how schizophrenic appears to be.
I like Jonah better than his mother, who as you say is bitter and vindictive. He's not a deep thinker or a great writer, but he can be amusing, which as someone I knew a long time ago used to say, is "better than a hole in the head." If he dumped Ann Coulter than that was stupid, but who knows if it was really his decision.
Darn, I was wrong. I was sure Edwards was going to announce he was pregnant.
Well, that was a quick recovery for his campaign. I hope his wife recovers with the same speed.
Wow. what is wrong with this guy? i don't care if these folks have every material comfort....i feel so sorry for his wife. here they have lost a child and now she is in a battle for her life and he IS SIMPLY WASTING this opportunity to show her how much he loves her for a presidential run when he doesn't even stand a chance! plus his kids will likely need alot of support. what a total idiot. i hope she has other good support to lean on.
Don't you mean single gay men?
right, sorry.
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