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A family's courage, determination

By Washington Post Editorial
Published March 25, 2007

The nation's heart, and ours, goes out to Elizabeth Edwards. After she received a diagnosis of breast cancer in 2004 - and beat it, for a time - she and her husband, John, announced Thursday that her cancer has returned. This time, they said, it is an incurable menace that has settled in her bones.

The Edwardses are no strangers to heartache. In 1996, their 16-year-old son, Wade, was killed in a car accident. But Mrs. Edwards has never been one to feel sorry for herself or to seek pity from others. As she said Thursday during a news conference in Chapel Hill, N.C., "We are always looking for the silver lining."

By speaking openly about her illness and allowing her doctor to answer questions about it, Mrs. Edwards provides an example of straightforwardness that may encourage other women and men to talk about their health and seek checkups when appropriate. Not only that, she shows that a recurrence of cancer does not mean that one must stop living one's life. Her courage and determination will be an inspiration to others wrestling with unwanted diagnoses.

Everyone will ask whether Mr. Edwards is doing the right thing by continuing his campaign for the Democratic Party nomination for president. After all, he and Mrs. Edwards have two small children at home, and the demands of a national campaign are daunting even under happier circumstances. But such a decision - and the discussion that leads to it - is intensely personal. The decision to stay in the race was made together, they said. "We have no intention of cowering in a corner," Mr. Edwards said. In the end, you have to respect that.

[Last modified March 25, 2007, 07:42:45]