Edwards Will Continue Campaign Despite Wife's Cancer

Mar 22, 08:00 PM

Current Headlines: WASHINGTON _ At the end of the 2004 presidential campaign, Elizabeth Edwards discovered a malignant lump in her breast and became a symbol of fortitude in the face of adversity for millions of women battling breast cancer.

This week, in the midst of her husband's second run for the White House, she was told by doctors that the cancer had returned in a metastasized and incurable form. Nevertheless, Elizabeth and John Edwards, in revealing the news Thursday, said he would continue running for president.

The announcement injected a note of uncertainty, however, into the race for the Democratic presidential nomination and could potentially reshape the field. John Edwards, a former North Carolina senator and John Kerry's 2004 running mate, said his wife's breast cancer had spread to her bones and possibly her lung and other organs.

Despite the diagnosis of stage IV breast cancer for Edwards, 57, the smiling couple said during a press conference in Chapel Hill, N.C., that they would campaign hard.

"We are very optimistic about this, because having been through some struggles together in the past, we know that the key is to keep your head up and keep moving and be strong and we intend to do exactly that," said John Edwards, alluding to the death of their 16-year-old son, Wade, in 1996, and his wife's initial cancer diagnosis in 2004.

Edwards said she would continue to travel the country with her husband and she described herself as symptom-free.

"I expect next week to do all the things I did last week," she said. "I don't expect my life to be significantly different."

Dr. Lisa Carey, Elizabeth Edwards' oncologist, said the survival rate for this kind of cancer varies significantly.

"For some people, none of the treatments we use work, so their survival is short," Carey said. "Other people can live with it for many years."

Virginia Kaklamani, assistant professor of hematology/oncology at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine, said the median survival rate for metastatic breast cancer is two years, but that some women can live with the disease for 15 to 20 years.

"If it spread to the lungs and liver, that's much more serious than in the bones," Kaklamani said.

Treatment generally consists of hormone therapy in the form of pills, Kaklamani said. And when that stops working, chemotherapy is used.

The American Cancer Society warned in a statement that "There are no nationally validated statistics on survival when breast cancer recurs after primary treatment."

John Edwards is widely considered to be in the top tier of candidates for 2008. His populist message, with its anti-war emphasis, seems to be resonating in Iowa, an important first step on the path to the nomination. In addition, he is expected to report substantial fundraising totals for the first quarter of the year, another key barometer of a candidate's viability.

National polls generally place Edwards in third place, following Sens. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., and Barack Obama, D-Ill..

More than many other spouses of presidential candidates, Edwards' wife has been a popular figure on the campaign trail and a close adviser to her husband. With a quick wit and a down-to-earth style, she campaigned on her own in 2004, drawing large crowds, and she frequently introduces her husband at stops around the country.

The couple left Thursday's press conference _ which was held at the site of their wedding reception 30 years ago _ for campaign events in New York, Boston and California.

"When this happens, you can go cower in a corner and hide or you can be tough and go out and stand up for what you believe in," John Edwards said, striking a defiant note when asked if he would suspend or end his presidential campaign. "We have no intention of cowering in a corner."

On the same day in 2004 that her husband learned he would not become vice president of the United States, Elizabeth Edwards was diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma, the most common form of breast cancer. She had discovered a lump in her breast the week before Election Day, but did not tell her husband as the pair continued to campaign separately around the country.

Following treatment, Elizabeth Edwards wrote a best-selling memoir called "Saving Graces." The book recounts the death of their son in a car accident, as well as the Edwards' quest to have more children late in life. They are the parents of Cate, 25, Emma Claire, 8, and Jack, 6.

Political strategists said it's unclear how voters will react, and that Edwards' announcement puts the campaign in uncharted waters.

"I think it's hard to figure out what the political implications are," said Karl Struble, a Democratic media strategist. "In the short term, it may engender some curiosity and sympathy to the both of them. In the long run, I think it depends on the whole health question."

Advisers to Edwards' rivals declined to speculate on how the news would affect the race. But the announcement was greeted with a wide range of sympathy and admiration from candidates in both parties, as well as from the White House.

The cancer was discovered after Elizabeth Edwards felt a pain in her left side and went to see her doctor, who took X-rays. That showed she might have a fracture, and something suspicious on a rib on her right side.

Upon hearing of the new concerns, John Edwards cut short a campaign trip to Iowa and returned home to North Carolina.

Elizabeth Edwards said she broke her rib after hurting her back while picking up a chest last week. When her husband came home from a trip and hugged her, she said she felt uncomfortable and wrenched away. He heard a popping noise.

But she said the events turned out to be fortuitous.

"If I hadn't picked up the chest, I wouldn't have turned; the rib wouldn't have broken; I wouldn't have seen Dr. Lee, who sent me to the X-ray," she said.

Both described the tough turn of events as another reason why John Edwards would make a good president.

"He has an unbelievable toughness, a reserve that allows him to push forward with what needs to happen," Elizabeth Edwards said.

And John Edwards said his ability to persevere is an essential quality in a commander-in-chief.

"Anyone who wants to be president of the United States needs to understand and recognize that there will be very difficult, intense, high-pressure times when judgments have to be made," he said. "And if you're not able to, in a focused, thoughtful way, to deal with this kind of pressure, you're not ready to be president."

___

(c) 2007, Chicago Tribune.

Visit the Chicago Tribune on the Internet at http://www.chicagotribune.com/

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

_____

PHOTOS (from MCT Photo Service, 202-383-6099): EDWARDS

For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. 1042044