Editing Elizabeth Edwards (section)

==Illness and death==
On November 3, 2004, the day her husband lost the vice presidency, Edwards announced that she had been diagnosed with [[breast cancer]]. She later revealed that she discovered a lump in her breast while on a campaign stop a few weeks earlier in [[Kenosha, Wisconsin]], in the midst of the campaign. Edwards became an activist for women's health and cancer patients, and underwent oncology treatments. In a November 2006 comment on the ''[[Daily Kos]]'' website, Edwards stated that on her last visit, her [[oncology|oncologist]] informed her that her cancer was no longer present, writing, "When I last went to my oncologist in North Carolina, she said that I had a lot going on in my life -- and that is an understatement -- but cancer was not one of them."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dailykos.com/comments/2006/11/20/144410/37/59#c59 |title=Edwards posting |publisher=[[Daily Kos]] blog |date=November 20, 2006}}</ref>

At a March 22, 2007 press conference,<ref name="pressconference">{{Cite news| url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/22/AR2007032201422.html|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|title=Transcript of Former Sen. Edwards News Conference on Wife's Health|date=March 22, 2007|access-date=March 27, 2007}}</ref> John and Elizabeth announced that her cancer had returned, and that his campaign for the Presidency would continue as before. The announcement included the information that she was asymptomatic, and therefore that she expected to be an active part of the campaign.<ref name="canceryahoo">{{cite web  | last = Pickler | first = Nedra| title = Edwards presses on with 2008 campaign| publisher = [[Yahoo.com]]| date = March 22, 2007| url = https://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070322/ap_on_el_pr/edwards2008| access-date =March 22, 2007 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070328171649/http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070322/ap_on_el_pr/edwards2008 <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = March 28, 2007}}</ref>

Her doctor, Dr. Lisa Carey of the [[UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center|University of North Carolina's Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center]], described the diagnosis as stage IV ([[Metastasis|metastatic]]) breast cancer with a spot in her rib and possibly her [[human lung|lung]]. In a March 25 interview on ''[[60 Minutes]]'', Edwards said that there was also a spot in her hip found on her bone scan.<ref>{{Cite news|last = Couric| first = Katie |author-link=Katie Couric |publisher=[[CBS]] |work=[[60 Minutes]] |url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/03/24/60minutes/main2605038.shtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070330160943/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/03/24/60minutes/main2605038.shtml |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 30, 2007 |title=Exclusive:John and Elizabeth Edwards, Edwards Open About Cancer, Unconditional About Couple's Decision On Presidential Run| date=March 25, 2007|access-date=March 28, 2007}}</ref>  The Edwardses and Carey stressed that the cancer was not curable, but was treatable.<ref name="pressconference"/><ref name="cancerusatoday">{{Cite news| last = Jill Lawrence and | first = Rita Rubin  | title = For Elizabeth Edwards, a public battle for her life  |work =[[USA Today]] |date=March 22, 2007|url = https://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2007-03-22-edwards-cover_N.htm  | access-date =March 23, 2007 }}
</ref> In early April 2007, Edwards was informed that her cancer might be treatable with anti-[[estrogen]] drugs. "I consider that a good sign. It means there are more medications to which I can expect to be responsive," she told the [[Associated Press]] during a campaign stop with her husband in [[Cedar Rapids, Iowa]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Elizabeth Edwards Gets a 'Good Sign' |url=https://people.com/celebrity/elizabeth-edwards-gets-a-good-sign/ |access-date=2024-07-02 |website=Peoplemag |language=en}}</ref> However, days later, in an interview with ''[[Newsweek]]'''s [[Jonathan Alter]], she said, "When I was first diagnosed, I was going to beat this. I was going to be the champion of cancer. And I don't have that feeling now. The cancer will eventually kill me. It's going to win this fight."<ref name="Alter">{{cite news|url=http://www.newsweek.com/2007/04/08/i-m-not-praying-for-god-to-save-me.html|title=Elizabeth Edwards: 'I'm Not Praying for God to Save Me'|last=Alter|first=Jonathan|date=April 9, 2007|work=Newsweek|access-date=December 9, 2010}}</ref>

On December 6, 2010, Edwards' family announced that she had stopped cancer treatment after her doctors informed her that further treatment would be unproductive, because the cancer had [[metastasized]] to her liver. She had been advised she had several weeks to live. Her family members, including her estranged husband John, were with her. She posted her last message on [[Facebook]]:

{{blockquote|You all know that I have been sustained throughout my life by three saving graces – my family, my friends, and a faith in the power of resilience and hope. These graces have carried me through difficult times and they have brought more joy to the good times than I ever could have imagined. The days of our lives, for all of us, are numbered. We know that. And, yes, there are certainly times when we aren't able to muster as much strength and patience as we would like. It's called being human.

But I have found that in the simple act of living with hope, and in the daily effort to have a positive impact in the world, the days I do have are made all the more meaningful and precious. And for that I am grateful. It isn't possible to put into words the love and gratitude I feel to everyone who has and continues to support and inspire me every day. To you I simply say: you know.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2010/12/06/elizabeth-edwards-stops-cancer-treatment-releases-statement/?hpt=T1&iref=BN1 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120723122338/http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2010/12/06/elizabeth-edwards-stops-cancer-treatment-releases-statement/?hpt=T1&iref=BN1 |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 23, 2012 |title=Elizabeth Edwards stops cancer treatment, releases statement|publisher=CNN  |date=December 6, 2010 }}</ref>}}

Edwards died the next day of [[metastatic breast cancer]] at home in Chapel Hill; she was 61 years old.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/5573188/ |title=Elizabeth Edwards dies |publisher=[[WRAL-TV|WRAL]] News |date=December 7, 2010 }}</ref> Her funeral, held at [[Edenton Street United Methodist Church]] in [[Raleigh, North Carolina|Raleigh]], was open to the public and was attended by over 1,200 people, including [[North Carolina Governor]] [[Beverly Perdue]], Senators [[John Kerry]] and [[Kay Hagan]],<ref>{{cite web|last=Dolak |first=Kevin |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/elizabeth-edwards-funeral-family-friends-attend-memorial/story?id=12370247 |title=Elizabeth Edwards' Funeral: Family, Friends Attended Memorial |work=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]] |location=USA  |date=December 11, 2010 |access-date=May 1, 2011}}</ref> and [[Victoria Reggie Kennedy]].<ref name="NYTfuneral"/> Threats of protests by the anti-gay coalition led by [[Westboro Baptist Church]] attracted at least 300 local Raleigh residents prepared to counterprotest in support of the Edwards family, but only five Westboro protesters showed up and were kept blocks away.<ref name="NYTfuneral">{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/12/us/politics/12edwards.html?src=mv|title=Elizabeth Edwards Eulogized as Defender of Her Family|last=Severson|first=Kim|date=December 12, 2010|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=December 12, 2010}}</ref><ref name="CSMfuneral">{{cite news| url=http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2010/1211/Westboro-picketers-outnumbered-at-Elizabeth-Edwards-funeral|title=Westboro picketers outnumbered at Elizabeth Edwards funeral|last=Knickerbocker| first=Brad|date=December 11, 2010|work=[[The Christian Science Monitor]]|access-date=December 12, 2010}}</ref> Elizabeth Edwards' marble monument was created by sculptor [[Robert Mihaly]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Oakwood monument connects Elizabeth Edwards, son|url=http://www.wral.com/oakwood-monument-connects-elizabeth-edwards-son/13542181/|access-date=24 March 2016|work=Wral}}</ref> She is interred with her son Wade in [[Historic Oakwood Cemetery|Oakwood Cemetery]] in Raleigh, North Carolina.