Edwards illness confirmed

last updated 8 January 2015

Boston

Elizabeth Edwards, wife of former vice presidential candidate John Edwards, was diagnosed with breast cancer last week, hours after her husband and Sen. John Kerry conceded the election. She had discovered a lump in her right breast days earlier, but delayed seeing a specialist to avoid missing time campaigning. She went straight from the Democratic ticket’s concession speech to a Boston hospital, where doctors confirmed she had a common form of breast cancer. Her treatment was expected to begin with surgery to remove the cancerous tissue. “Elizabeth is as strong a person as I’ve ever known,” said Sen. Edwards. “Together, our family will beat this.”