Elizabeth Edward's Passed Away

[Stinkerbell]

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Elizabeth Edwards, who closely advised her husband in two bids for the presidency and advocated for health care even as her own health and marriage publicly crumbled, died Tuesday after a six-year struggle with cancer. She was 61.

She died at her North Carolina home surrounded by her three children, siblings, friends and her estranged husband, John, the family said.

"Today we have lost the comfort of Elizabeth's presence but, she remains the heart of this family," the family said in a statement. "We love her and will never know anyone more inspiring or full of life. On behalf of Elizabeth we want to express our gratitude to the thousands of kindred spirits who moved and inspired her along the way. Your support and prayers touched our entire family."

She was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2004, in the final days of her husband's vice presidential campaign. The Democratic John Kerry-John Edwards ticket lost to incumbent President George W. Bush.

John Edwards launched a second bid for the White House in 2007, and the Edwardses decided to continue even after doctors told Elizabeth that her cancer had spread. He lost the nomination to Barack Obama.

The couple separated in January after he admitted fathering a child with a campaign videographer.

Elizabeth Edwards had focused in recent years on advocating health care reform, often wondering aloud about the plight of those who faced the same of kind of physical struggles she did but without her personal wealth.

She had also shared with the public the most intimate struggles of her bouts with cancer, writing and speaking about the pain of losing her hair, the efforts to assure her children about their mother's future and the questions that lingered about how many days she had left to live.

[CindyLouWho]

That woman sure had been through a lot but always kept her head up.  It was bad enough when she lost her son, but to get cancer & plus the cheating husband on top of all that?  My heart & prayers definitely goes out to her family, especially her kids.   

[Stinkerbell]

That woman sure had been through a lot but always kept her head up.  It was bad enough when she lost her son, but to get cancer & plus the cheating husband on top of all that?  My heart & prayers definitely goes out to her family, especially her kids.   

It breaks my heart, that at a time in her life when she needed the support of her husband, he wasn't there for her... because he'd cheated on her... I can't imagine what it was like for her.

[playerkane]

She deserved better. A woman that radiated classiness and strength. God Bless and May She Rest in Peace.