John Edwards announced Thursday that he will continue his presidential campaign, even though his wife, Elizabeth, just learned that her cancer has returned and is incurable.
“The campaign goes on. The campaign goes on strongly,” Edwards said at a news conference with his wife in Chapel Hill, N.C. “We have no intention of cowering in the corner.”
Elizabeth Edwards, 57, a breast cancer survivor, said the disease recently reappeared in her bones and was discovered by doctors who treated her for a cracked rib last week.
She said “there’s honestly no health reason why we should” suspend her husband’s presidential campaign. She expects to function normally with medical treatment.
“I expect to do next week all the things I did last week, and the week after that, and next year,” she said. “I don’t expect my life to be significantly different.”
She and her husband appeared upbeat and serene as they discussed the disease.
“Her cancer will not be cured now — Elizabeth will have this as long as she’s alive,” John Edwards said. “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.”
To that end, the couple headed back on the campaign trail immediately after the press conference, traveling first to New York and Boston, with plans to visit California today.
John Edwards, a former senator from North Carolina, is considered a top-tier candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, although he has been overshadowed by two prominent rivals, New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Illinois Sen. Barack Obama.
White House spokesman Tony Snow, himself a cancer survivor, said the administration’s “thoughts and prayers” are with Elizabeth Edwards.
“As somebody who’s been through this, Elizabeth Edwards is setting a powerful example for a lot of people,” he said. “She has been on top of diagnosis and follow-up. When you have cancer, it’s very important to keep checking.”
