Elizabeth Edwards has posted a farewell message to her friends on Facebook, a sign that the wife of former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards is in the terminal stages of cancer.
Edwards, 61, was hospitalized last week in North Carolina. Over the weekend, she decided to stop treatment, according to a statement her family provided to reporters.
“She is resting at home with family and friends,” according to the statement.
Edwards writes that she has “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,” Edwards writes.
Edwards was first diagnosed with cancer on Election Day in 2004 and revealed the news a day later, after her husband John, the vice presidential nominee and then-U.S. senator from North Carolina, and presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., conceded.
Ambitious and driven, Elizabeth Edwards played a critical role in both of her husband’s presidential campaigns. When she learned that he had been having an affair, she helped him hide it, telling a reporter that even in his less-than-flattering moments, he would make a great president. She and John Edwards did not divorce, though they are legally separated.
She is a passionate advocate for health care reform, serves as a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress Action Fund, and has written two books.
Elizabeth Edwards’s full statement is below:
STATEMENT FROM THE EDWARDS FAMILY
Elizabeth has been advised by her doctors that further treatment of her cancer would be unproductive. She is resting at home with family and friends and has posted this message to friends on her Facebook page.
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.
With love,
Elizabeth
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