"Elizabeth Edwards Gets Good News: A More Treatable Type of Cancer"

[Lex]

I'll take any good news for her I can get at this point!

Elizabeth Edwards Gets Good News: A More Treatable Type of Cancer

By NEDRA PICKLER
Associated Press Writer

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — Elizabeth Edwards said Tuesday that she got some good news: She has a type of cancer that is more likely to be controlled by anti-estrogen drugs.

Mrs. Edwards, wife of Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards, expressed frustration with reports that she's likely to die within five years. She said doctors can't give her a reliable life expectancy and even if they could, the information would be of no comfort to her.

"I don't care," she said in an interview with The Associated Press as she campaigned with her husband. "I'm going to fight exactly as hard if they tell me that I've got 15 years or if I've got 30 years. I'm still going to fight to get rid of this - if they tell me I've got 15 minutes I'm still going to fight. It doesn't matter what the prognosis is. So it's not an important piece of information to me."

The Edwardses announced nearly two weeks ago that the breast cancer she thought she had beaten with surgery, radiation and chemotherapy had spread to her bone. They said they had no intention of ending his bid because doctors told her that although she's likely to die from the disease eventually, the campaign wouldn't interfere with her treatment.

More here ---> http://www.wral.com/news/state/story/1259073/

[riderinthestorm]

1. Wow, great news! nt

[Lex]

2. I like her so much

even before all this, from way back when she was my Senator's wife I thought she totally ruled.

The day the news came out about her breast cancer, I left work early because I was so wiped out by the news.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

3. Beautiful news

For a beautiful woman. Glad to hear it.

[Missy Vixen]

4. Fight on, Elizabeth

We've got your back.

>I'm still going to fight to get rid of this - if they tell me I've got 15 minutes I'm still going to fight.<

She's got kids and a husband she adores, and who adore her in return. I hope she'll have a long and happy life.

Julie

[JeffR]

5. Elizabeth Edwards for President!

A profile in courage the likes of which we have not seen for some time.

[judaspriestess]

6. best of wishes to her and I am glad to hear this also

my godmother died of breast cancer that spread to her bones, it was awful.

[mile18blister]

7. "Time left" predictions

Many predictions of time left to live should be taken with a very large grain of salt. My favorite story is about a man who took advantage of an IRS tax amnesty program. He quit paying taxes because he was told he only had 6 months to live. 9 YEARS LATER (which was several years after his doctor died) he decided he'd better settle with the IRS. The will to live is a BIG factor.

[bluescribbler]

14. Lies, damned lies, and cancer stats

"There are three stages of mendacity; lies, damned lies, and statistics." Mark Twain. Steven Jay Gould wrote about the relationship between the statistics of prognosis following a cancer diagnosis and the actual lifespan of an individual patient. Put simply, the statistics are amassed from a large group of patients over a long span of time. Yet each patient is different from the others, and each case of cancer is different. Last year I attended a seminar on melanoma at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. One of the speakers, Dr. Donald Lawrence, said that researchers are learning that melanoma isn't just one disease. It isn't even hundreds of diseases. He said that it's actually thousands of diseases. If this is so, it proves that the statistics aren't valid for any individual patient. This seems to be true for breast cancer, as well.

As we've seen in the article cited in the top post, there are three hormone receptors commonly associated with breast cancer. Some patients are triple negative, meaning that they have no receptors for any of the three, some are triple positive, meaning that they have all three, and others fall somewhere in between. So, here we have at least nine different diseases. In addition, there are more aggressive forms of breast cancer, such as inflammatory breast cancer, and less aggressive forms, such as ductile in situ carcinoma.

In addition, we must consider that researchers are hard at work discovering how cancer works and how to slow or stop it. Of all the scientists who ever lived, the majority of them are working in labs today. This is as true of oncologists as it is of astrophysicists and organic chemists. So it isn't surprising when Mrs. Edwards says that the treatment she will be receiving didn't exist 5 years ago. Next year there will be cancer treatments which don't exist today. perhaps one of them will be the one which saves her life, and enables her to live into her 80's.

We can fervently hope.

[graywarrior]

8. That's half the battle, right there. Her great attitude.

Plus the devoted love from millions of people out there.

[ourbluenation]

9. That is wonderful news for this wonderful family.

[bdamomma]

10. Fight on Ms. Edwards!!!!

[Marnieworld]

11. Yay!

Hey Elizabeth! :hug: :patriot: I love, respect and admire how you are rising to the challenges of your life. You are amazing.

[helderheid]

12. Rec 5 for Elizabeth!

[cynthia]

13. Will the media choose their words more carefully?

I hope the media folks will respectfully honor her request. Who writes these news reports anyway? Even on Air America, the on-the-hour news announcer referred to "candidate John Edwards, whose wife Elizabeth is terminally ill". I wanted to scream. Where are the editors? Where are the people who think before they speak?

[Pachamama]

15. Great, great news....

:grouphug:

[19jet54]

16. Elizabeth is a great soul...

... she is in all our thoughts & prayers constantly :hug:

A refreshing example of true religion, O8)

vs "W"s compassionate conservative war religion :evilfrown:

[Sukie1941]

17. Someone else will die

Someone else who thinks he/she is perfectly healthy has a chance to die before Elizabeth Edwards does. That is just FATE!

Why are we even discussing Mrs. Edwards' demise?? She is doing just fine!

And if her hubby were to stop campaigning and just stay at home "taking care of the little woman," as some people suggest, what in hell is he supposed to do?

I have already decided, no matter who makes how much money campaigning, that it is a Gore/Edwards ticket. No one else is on my list.

[Nutmegger]

18. Welcome to DU

:hi: :)

[SusanaMontana41]

19. A smile and a big thank-you

for Elizabeth. She's already won this fight.

:)