Elizabeth Edward's breast got return and getting battle!

[sara1981]

Cancer's Return Shouldn't Limit Elizabeth Edwards, Doctors Say

Cancer's Return Shouldn't Limit Elizabeth Edwards, Doctors Say - Yahoo! News

THURSDAY, March 22 (HealthDay News) -- John and Elizabeth Edwards' decision to carry on his bid to be the Democratic nominee for the White House is the right one, given what's known about her recurrent cancer and advances in treatment today, two expert oncologists say.

The couple announced Thursday that Elizabeth Edwards' breast cancer had returned, this time spreading -- but perhaps remaining localized to -- a rib on her right side. Her doctor, Dr. Lisa Carey, described the tumor as stage 4 metastatic disease.


However, although metastatic cancer is ultimately fatal, proper monitoring and treatment could give the 57-year-old Mrs. Edwards years, perhaps even decades, of life, leading oncologists say.


"That's why we say that this is not a curable disease but more like a chronic illness," said Dr. Toby Greene, a breast cancer surgeon at Hackensack University Medical Center in Hackensack, N.J. "You can never forget that you have it, but it doesn't mean that you cannot live a long, hearty, prosperous life. She may see him through his entire presidency, should he win."


The prognosis once someone is stage 4 varies depending on the type of cancer, Greene said. According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine, recurrence rates for breast cancer still range between 5 percent and 25 percent. But five-year relative survival rates for stage 4 breast cancer patients are only 20 percent, according to the American Cancer Society.


"Yes, it is scary, and it raises the flag that this really needs attention, and we really need to deal with it," Greene said. "But it doesn't really mean that just because it's stage 4 that her life is over."


Elizabeth Edwards struck a similar upbeat note during Thursday's press conference as she stood beside her husband, a former U.S. senator for North Carolina who is considered a top contender for the Democratic nomination. Early reports had suggested he might bow out of the race should his wife's cancer return, but the couple appears determined to move forward with the campaign.


"I don't look sickly, I don't feel sickly," Mrs. Edwards told reporters. "I am as ready as any person can be for that."


Elizabeth Edwards, a lawyer and mother of four (one son, Wade, died in a 1996 car crash) was first diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma, the most common form of breast cancer, in the final days of her husband's 2004 vice-presidential campaign. After surgery and months of chemotherapy, her doctors could find no further signs of recurrence. She wrote of her life, and her struggle against breast cancer, in her 2006 memoir Saving Grace.


Speaking with reporters, John Edwards said his wife noticed a pain in her left side on Monday -- later diagnosed as a broken rib. Further bone study and a biopsy on Wednesday uncovered the malignant tumor in a rib on the opposite side.


CT scans have not shown evidence of further spread, although Carey, Elizabeth Edward's doctor, did tell reporters that spread to a lung was a possibility, and more tests will be needed to rule that out.


According to Greene, simply removing the affected rib is not an option. "We have to treat patients like Mrs. Edwards with metastatic disease as if they have the potential of having the cancer be everywhere," the surgeon explained. "We have to treat them systematically, not just locally. Removing the rib would not really then take care of the whole body. And we know that we can treat the rib without her undergoing surgical intervention."


A lot will depend on just what kind of breast cancer Mrs. Edwards originally had, something that wasn't divulged at the press conference. Cancers that are "estrogen-receptor positive" -- meaning they can grow under the influence of circulating estrogen -- may be reined in for months or years by hormonal therapy, which has relatively few side effects.


"If she has the option of hormone therapy and responds to it, she may return to her same quality of life and function and do very well," said Dr. Julia Smith, director of the Lynne Cohen Breast Cancer Preventative Care Program at the New York University Cancer Institute and Bellevue Hospital, in New York City. "There is a subset of patients with bone-only disease -- as it appears that she has -- who respond to hormones and do very well for a very long time, possibly well longer than 10 years."


"So, I think that's the hope," Smith said. "If she has hormone receptor negative disease, then you do not have that option anymore. Then you have to put the patient on (stronger) chemotherapy."


Depending on the treatment she receives, Elizabeth Edwards could face a "rocky" year ahead, Greene said, although the side effects from the types of systemic chemotherapy and radiation she might receive are not as onerous as those used in the past. She might require a few weeks of radiation first to treat the bone tumor and hopefully eliminate other stray cells, Greene said. And if her cancer is hormone-receptor positive, she could be placed on hormonal treatments for years to come.


"This doesn't necessarily mean that her quality of life is going to be altered," the breast cancer specialist said. "Some patients do say that radiation therapy makes them a bit tired, but it doesn't cause nausea, vomiting, hair loss."


But Smith reiterated that there is ultimately no cure for metastatic disease.

"You cannot eradicate this disease and never have to deal with it again," she said. "Mrs. Edwards will be dealing with this disease the rest of her life, and it is likely to limit her life. She will be on therapy, if not the rest of her life, then intermittently on-and-off therapy."

"It's more of a chronic disease," agreed Greene, who said she supported the Edwards' decision to carry on with the political campaign.

"Presuming that she's strong, he's strong, and they have talked it over and agreed upon it, there is no reason for them to stop in their tracks and sit and 'wait for the end,' " she said.

More information

There's more on breast cancer at the American Cancer Society.

 

[sara1981]

Edwards: Wife's cancer returns, campaign goes on
Edwards: Wife's cancer returns, campaign goes on - CNN.com

CHAPEL HILL, North Carolina (CNN) -- Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards said Thursday his wife's cancer has returned but his bid for the White House will continue.

"The campaign goes on," the former senator from North Carolina said at a news conference, contradicting earlier media reports.

John Edwards said tests this week had shown his wife, Elizabeth, had cancer in a rib on her right side. He said the cancer is treatable but not curable.

"We are very optimistic about this," he said, noting that the tumor is small in size and has a "relatively minimal presence."

Elizabeth Edwards, 57, said she was "incredibly optimistic" and said her expectations about the future were unchanged.

"I expect to do next week all the things I did last week. And the week after that, and next year at the same time," she said.

And she wanted her husband to continue his run for the presidency. (Watch the couple explain future plans )

"From our perspective, there was no reason to stop," the candidate said. "I don't think we seriously thought about it."

He said, "You can go cower in the corner and hide or you can go out there and stand up for what you believe in. We have no intentions of cowering in the corner."

Elizabeth Edwards played a key role in convincing her husband to continue his campaign, a source close to both John and Elizabeth Edwards told CNN's Candy Crowley.

"Elizabeth is not going to let him get out," the friend told Crowley before the Edwards news conference.

Elizabeth Edwards said she was fortunate that she felt pain from a cracked rib and got X-rays that revealed the cancer.

Dr. Lisa Carey, the oncologist treating Edwards, categorized the cancer as metastatic Stage 4 cancer, which is largely confined to the bones. She said the prognosis was good. (Full story)

Elizabeth Edwards first underwent treatment for breast cancer after the 2004 campaign in which her husband was the Democratic vice presidential nominee.

John Edwards, who was campaigning in Iowa, cut short the rest of his schedule on Tuesday to be with his spouse. The two went to see the doctor together Wednesday.

The former lawmaker ran for president in 2004 before becoming Democratic nominee Sen. John Kerry's running mate. Edwards announced in December that he would again seek the party's presidential nomination.

Most national polls show him running third behind Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama.

CNN senior political analyst Bill Schneider said that Edwards has campaigned on more liberal stances than he did in 2004.

"He's been reaching out, really, to the liberal activists in the Democratic Party who represent a very significant base of support, particularly in the primaries and the caucuses," Schneider said.

Schneider said Edwards has been banking on winning in the so-called "January" states -- Iowa, Nevada, South Carolina and New Hampshire -- that hold primaries or caucuses in the first month of 2008.

"Basically, the strategy was to make a big shows in the early states, and many polls showed him ahead in Iowa, where he came in second in the 2004 contest, hoping that the momentum created by those, at least a victory, at least one, possibly more states would give him momentum, going into the big states in February," Schneider said.

Immediately after Thursday's briefing, the Edwardses planned to travel to New York and Massachusetts, where their oldest daughter is at Harvard University.

On Tuesday, the Democratic candidate campaigned at Iowa's Biomass Energy Conversion Center, unveiling a plan intended to achieve energy independence and halt global warming. (Watch Edwards declare global warming a "huge emergency" )

Edwards and his wife met in law school at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. They married in 1977 and have had four children. Their first child, Wade, was killed in a 1996 car accident.

In her 2006 book, "Saving Graces," Elizabeth Edwards wrote about her life, including cancer treatment and the death of her son.

 

[sara1981]

i will look more news about Mrs.Edward's breast cancer news but please tune on Larry King tonight about her books,her first son dies in car accident,breast cancer,etc.

 

[sara1981]

Malignant cancer found in right rib of Elizabeth Edwards
Malignant cancer found in right rib of Elizabeth Edwards - USATODAY.com

By Jill Lawrence, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON — Malignant cancer has been found in the right rib of Elizabeth Edwards, the wife of Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards, but he will continue his campaign as she undergoes treatment, they said today.
Edwards said doctors had found a malignancy in his wife's right rib Wednesday. She originally had sought medical attention after noticing pain in the rib on her opposite side Monday.


FAQ: Answers to breast cancer questions

"The net result of the test is that the cancer is back. It's largely confined to bone, which is a good thing," he said from Chapel Hill, N.C., where he appeared with Elizabeth. She had been diagnosed with breast cancer in the final days of the 2004 campaign, but the Edwards campaign said she recently had been in good health.


ON DEADLINE: How the Edwardses have coped, what's ahead

The cancer found in the bone is not curable, although Edwards compared it to a chronic condition such as diabetes. "We will be in this every step of the way together," he said.

Edwards also said he would not suspend or end his presidential campaign. "The campaign goes on. The campaign goes on strongly," he said.

Elizabeth Edwards — a lawyer who also advises her husband politically — first discovered a lump in her breast when her husband was the Democratic vice presidential nominee. He announced the diagnosis the day after he and presidential nominee John Kerry lost the election to President Bush.

Edwards campaign adviser Jennifer Palmieri issued a statement Tuesday night saying the candidate had canceled an event in Indianola, Iowa, to attend a follow-up medical appointment Wednesday with his wife. Palmieri said similar appointments had resulted in a clean bill of health.

Elizabeth Edwards, 57, had been diagnosed in 2004 with invasive ductal cancer, the most common type of breast cancer. It can spread from the milk ducts to other parts of the breast and beyond.

She wrote about her life, including her breast cancer treatment, in a book published last year called Saving Graces. She had surgery and underwent several months of radiation and chemotherapy.

Edwards said his wife first noticed her left-side pain Monday — later diagnosed as a broken rib — and that a subsequent bone study and biopsy Wednesday found the cancer on the opposite side. "The biopsy showed that the cancer had returned. It was malignant," he said.

A CAT scan of the area was inconclusive, he said.

"At this point, surgery is not an option for her," Dr. Lisa Carey, Elizabeth Edwards' oncologist, told reporters. She said that in addition to the bone, it is possible the cancer had spread to a lung, but additional tests will be needed.

"Any time, any place where I need to be with Elizabeth, I will be there — period," Edwards said. His wife also will travel with him when possible, he added.

Reporters had been braced for Edwards to announce he was suspending his campaign, as online political site politico.com had reported beforehand. What they saw instead was Edwards and his wife insisting his presidential campaign would continue.

Their low-key, matter-of-fact announcement that Elizabeth Edwards' cancer had returned but was treatable spotlighted some of the strengths of his campaign — including his wife's articulate and avid support of his cause. Elizabeth Edwards has long been her husband's closest political adviser and an impassioned advocate for him on the stump.

"Is this a hardship for us? It's yet another hurdle," Elizabeth Edwards said. "But I've seen people who are in really desperate shape" while traveling on the campaign trail in the 2004 race. She said it was "unbelievably important" for the country to be put on the right track — something she said her husband was determined to do.

"Other than sitting around feeling sorry for ourselves, there was no reason to stop," John Edwards said.

Elizabeth Edwards, born in Jacksonville, Fla., grew up between the United States and Japan because of her father's career as a Navy pilot. She met her future husband at University of North Carolina law school, in Chapel Hill.

The Edwardses have been married nearly 30 years and had four children. Their oldest child, Wade, died in a car accident in 1996.

"During the (2004) campaign, people who knew we had lost a son said, 'You are so strong,' and when I had breast cancer people would say, 'You are so strong,' and I thought, 'They don't know that there's a trick to being strong, and the trick is that nobody does it alone,"' she said in an interview with The Associated Press last year. "I wanted, from the perspective of someone going through it, not tell them what to do, but show them what great support I got."

Edwards is viewed as a top tier 2008 Democratic contender, along with Clinton and Obama. He was leading or tied for first place in recent polls of Iowa and third in recent New Hampshire polls. In seven national polls this month, Edwards was third in polls that did not ask about Al Gore and fourth when Gore was included. Gore has said he has no plans to run.

Last May, asked by ABC News' George Stephanopoulos what could stop him from running, Edwards responded, "Elizabeth having her health problems come back."

 

[Reba]

...Last May, asked by ABC News' George Stephanopoulos what could stop him from running, Edwards responded, "Elizabeth having her health problems come back."

Well, Edwards has shown his true colors now. His political ambitions are more important to him than his wife's well being. :thumbd:

 

[sara1981]

Cancer setback for Edwards' wife
BBC NEWS | Americas | Cancer setback for Edwards' wife

US presidential candidate John Edwards has said his wife Elizabeth's cancer has returned.
But Mr Edwards said his election campaign would go on. He said both he and his wife were "very optimistic about this".

Elizabeth Edwards, 57, was treated for breast cancer after the 2004 presidential campaign.

A former lawyer and senator who ran with John Kerry in 2004, Mr Edwards declared his candidacy last year.

"The campaign goes on. The campaign goes on strongly," he told reporters at a news conference in North Carolina, his wife by his side.

Mr Edwards said the disease was incurable, but treatable, and that Mrs Edwards would live with the disease for as long as she was alive.

"The bottom line is her cancer is back. We are very optimistic about this because, having been through some struggles together in the past, we know, the key is to keep your head up," he said.

Mrs Edwards said she did not have any symptoms of the disease.

"I don't look sickly, I don't feel sickly. I am as ready as any person can be for that," she said at the news conference.

Mr Edwards cancelled campaign appearances earlier in the week to be with his wife when she had to undergo further tests following a routine medical appointment on Monday.

He said a biopsy had shown his wife had cancer in the bone on a rib on her right-hand side.

 

[sara1981]

Edwards to fight on despite wife's cancer
Edwards to fight on despite wife's cancer | International News | News | Telegraph

The Democrat contender John Edwards said yesterday that his campaign for the White House would continue despite his wife suffering a recurrence of cancer.

Elizabeth Edwards, 57, learned from doctors this week that she has incurable bone cancer. However, she has been told it is treatable given the small size of the tumour, which was found in a rib.

She was diagnosed with breast cancer during the 2004 campaign, when her husband ran for vice-president alongside John Kerry. She underwent surgery to remove a tumour and received months of intensive therapy.

At a joint press conference yesterday held in their home state of North Carolina, Mr Edwards said: "We are very optimistic about this. Many patients in similar circumstances have lived many years undergoing treatment."

He added: "The campaign goes on. The campaign goes on strongly.

"You can go cower in the corner and hide or you can be tough and go out there and stand up for what you believe in."

Mrs Edwards, who is among her husband's closest advisers, said she fully supported the continuation of her husband's bid.

"I am immensely proud of his campaign," she said. "It's important that the American people have the opportunity to have a president like him."

She added that she would play as full a part in the campaign as possible, but would have to pay more visits to her doctor.

Her diagnosis will, however, cast doubt on the long-term viability of Mr Edwards's campaign. He made it clear that he would drop everything if his wife of 30 years ever needed him.

Spouses often campaign separately in the US and the likeable and intelligent Mrs Edwards, a lawyer like her husband, is a considerable asset.

Mr Edwards, 53, is currently in third place behind Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama in polls among registered Democrats, who will next year choose their candidate for the November 2008 presidential election.

His rivals' campaign teams will be assessing to whom his supporters might switch if he were to drop out.

Mr Obama, who has a similarly progressive agenda, would be the more likely beneficiary. It might also further encourage the former vice-president turned environmental campaigner Al Gore to join the race.

 

[sara1981]

Elizabeth Edwards's Cancer Returns – but Campaign Goes on
Elizabeth Edwards's Cancer Returns – but Campaign Goes on | Elizabeth Edwards, John Edwards : People.com

Elizabeth Edwards, the wife of Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards, has had a recurrence of cancer, this time incurable and in her bone, the couple announced at a midday news conference in Chapel Hill, N.C.

"Her cancer is back," said John Edwards, 53. "We are very optimistic. The key is to keep your head up, keep moving, be strong." Edwards also intends to continue his 2008 Democratic presidential bid.

Elizabeth Edwards, 57, a mother of four, had suffered from breast cancer but was believed to be in remission. Now that it has "moved from the breast to the bone," she is "no longer curable," said her husband.

But, he emphasized, "It is completely treatable. ... Many patients have lived many years after treatment. She will not be cured ... like diabetes, it will never go away."

Elizabeth said: "I'm absolutely ready for this. I don't look sickly, I don't feel sickly. I'm ready as any person can be for this." She's been told by her doctors – who diagnosed her with stage IV metastatic cancer – to expect that chemotherapy and other medication might make her tired.

But with a mother's knowing chuckle, she noted that she has a 6-year-old and 8-year-old at home. "If I get tired, I expect they'll be the reason," not medication, she said.

How her body will react to any treatment cannot be predicted. Her oncologist, Dr. Lisa Carey, said, "Unfortunately, we don't know until we give therapy exactly how hers will go."

As for John Edwards's future plans, "I intend to do what I've always done with Elizabeth," he said. "We've been together every step of the way."

This includes his run for the White House. "The campaign goes on. The campaign goes on strongly," he said, adding that he and Elizabeth had discussed the issue. "You can go in the corner and hide, or you can go out there and be tough," he said. "We have no intention of cowering in the corner."

The couple – who met at University of North Carolina law school – have been married nearly 30 years and had four children: Cate, 25, Emma, 8, and Jack, 6. Their eldest, Wade, died in a car accident in 1996, when he was 16.

In her announcement, Elizabeth Edwards said that their kids have been informed of her new condition. "They have the same hopeful attitude that we have," she said, joking that they expressed disappointment that she is not expected to lose her hair with the upcoming current round of treatment.

But, she added, "I don't expect my life to be significantly different."

Thursday's announcement came a day after Elizabeth Edwards visited doctors who have been monitoring her recovery from the breast cancer that was first diagnosed in 2004. Her condition was announced publicly the day after her husband lost his bid to become U.S. Vice President on the John Kerry ticket, and last year doctors had given her a clean bill of health.

On Wednesday, John Edwards cut short a trip to Iowa to be with his wife but still attended a barbecue fund-raiser that evening in Chapel Hill, their hometown, the Associated Press reported.

It was during the final days of the 2004 campaign that Elizabeth Edwards discovered a lump in her breast, later diagnosed as invasive ductal cancer, the most common type of breast cancer. It can spread from the milk ducts to other parts of the breast and beyond.

 

[Throwstones]

I pray for John Edwards' wife to get well soon! God bless her and her husband to keep running for President 2008!

 

[Texan Guy]

I won't vote for John Edwards. But I will pray for them both. Hopefully she will win the battling against the cancer. She has the Stage Four. It will be hard fighting.

Sara1981, take it easy. I can't read it all. lol

 

[mecooncat]

I believe that Elizabeth wants her husband to continue his campaign. They both agree to continue on. She is a very brave woman and will fight for it. If I were her, I would continue and not to sit around wait for it to go away or to get depressed. I'll be bored senseless. She thinks of positive way.

 

[sara1981]

I won't vote for John Edwards. But I will pray for them both. Hopefully she will win the battling against the cancer. She has the Stage Four. It will be hard fighting.

Sara1981, take it easy. I can't read it all. lol

dont be so rush! ok

 

[sara1981]

Edwards Campaign Faces Uncertain Future
Edwards Campaign Faces Uncertain Future, Long-Term Impact Of Wife's Cancer On Dem's White House Hopes Remains Unknown - CBS News

John and Elizabeth Edwards stood side-by-side in the North Carolina sunshine to announce that her cancer was back and that his run for the presidency would go forward at full speed.

It was a sympathetic tableau that drew an immediate outpouring of well wishes from people of all political persuasions.

"You can cower in the corner and hide or you can be tough and go out there and stand up for what you believe in," Edwards said. His wife said her illness was a hurdle they would surmount together.

That sort of can-do optimism in a grim and unavoidable situation may well bring short-term benefits to a campaign trying to keep up with Democratic heavy-hitters Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama. But the longer-term political ramifications of his pursuing the presidency during her health crisis are unknown, and could well hinge on Mrs. Edwards' health.

Ironically, John Edwards is getting more attention than he's received in this presidential campaign so far and will likely raise his profile, CBS News correspondent Gloria Borger reported, who added that how the couple deals with Elizabeth's cancer will show the nation what kind of a couple they are because they are very much a campaign team.

The Edwardses have a chance to "humanize" this presidential campaign now, especially on an issue such as health care, Jim VandeHei, of Politico.com told CBS' The Early Show.

"John Edwards talks a lot about greater access to health care," VandeHei said. "He can really talk, now, as a family member who understands what that means."

If Mrs. Edwards is able to campaign at his side with energy and vigor, there could well be a positive reaction to the resolute candidate and his wife, who press forward despite adversity. Millions of Americans themselves have faced cancer or know someone who has, and can identify with their challenge.

"It makes him real," said Democratic strategist Dane Strother. "It makes her real."

Still, Mrs. Edwards' illness injects a new element of uncertainty into the campaign, and political calculations could quickly change should her condition worsen significantly.

Already, there was a foreshadowing of that in critics' blog postings Thursday that questioned whether a presidential campaign is the right place for a man with two small children and a wife with cancer.

Edwards stressed that doctors had assured them the campaign would not interfere with his wife's treatment, and added: "Any time, any place I need to be with Elizabeth I will be there — period."

Democratic pollster Mark Mellman said that while the disclosure of Mrs. Edwards' illness could generate short-term interest in the Edwards campaign, it probably doesn't change the long-term dynamic significantly.

"A lot will depend on how people react, and anybody that tries to tell you how people are going to react is making it up," Mellman added. "It is an unusual situation, and we're out of the realm of clear historical precedent."

Edwards' fundraiser Fred Barron speculated that financial support for the campaign could even increase "in the sense that more people will truly get to know John and Elizabeth Edwards." He said the sponsor of a private fundraiser for Edwards on Thursday night in New York told Barron after the announcement that he was doubling his fundraising goal for the event. Neither the amount nor the identity of the fundraiser was released.

Democratic consultant Chris Lehane said candidates often are measured by how they respond in the heat of a stressful moment. In this case, he said, the Edwardses handled things "about as well as you can handle a situation like this," by being forthright, quick to respond and making clear that it was Elizabeth Edwards' decision for the campaign to go forward.

"These are situations where voters extrapolate an awful lot about a candidate's character," Lehane said. Those who might have questioned whether Edwards had the toughness to be president could well draw a lesson from how he handles this situation, Lehane added.

Edwards is not the only candidate running for president in the shadow of a spouse's incurable health problems. Ann Romney was diagnosed in 1998 with multiple sclerosis, a progressive nerve disease that she says she's kept under control but has left her fatigued during her husband Mitt's GOP presidential campaign.

"Were she not healthy I would not have run," Romney told the AP last month. "She is able to manage her disease such that she does not overdo or cause herself physical problem. Were that not the case, we'd have made a different decision. We'd be in the sun somewhere."

Mrs. Edwards, 57, was first diagnosed with breast cancer in the final weeks of the 2004 campaign. She underwent several months of radiation and chemotherapy. This week, doctors found the cancer had returned, and was in one of her ribs. Doctors don't know exactly how widespread the cancer is, but will be watching some other suspicious spots.

The average survival rate has been 2 1/2 to five years, CBS News medical correspondent Dr. Jon LaPook reports. But doctors say the odds are improving, thanks to newer therapies that target the cancer with fewer side effects.

 

[sara1981]

Cancer And The Presidential Race
Cancer And The Presidential Race, The Skinny: Assessing The Impact Of John And Elizabeth Edwards' Announcement - CBS News

The announcement by John Edwards that his wife Elizabeth's cancer had returned, and that he planned to continue with his presidential campaign, was front-page news in all the major daily newspapers Friday, along with speculation about how that decision could impact the race.

The Los Angeles Times said that "as a practical matter," the announcement would give the Edwards campaign far more attention in the coming days than it has received lately.

But, the paper added, "The long-term political implications are uncertain." His wife's illness may "engender sympathy" but some voters may also see his presidential bid as "a misplaced priority, especially if his wife's condition deteriorates."

The New York Times echoed those concerns, saying some Democrats had said Edwards' decision "could pose some risks should his wife’s illness worsen and raise questions about his decision to continue campaigning in a race where he has often placed third in polls in an intensely competitive Democratic field."

USA Today, however, said that the decision to stay in the race was groundbreaking and that the couple was "writing a new chapter in the way political campaigns are waged. … Cancer, with its potential for triumph or tragedy, is now part of the 2008 presidential race."

Gates Sought Gitmo Shutdown

Robert M. Gates has been no wallflower since replacing Donald Rumsfeld as defense secretary. He has acknowledged with far more candor than his predecessor that things are not going well for the U.S. in Iraq, he quickly fired top military officials after revelations about the Walter Reed scandal, and now there are reports that he pushed for the closing of the U.S. detention center for terror suspects at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

The New York Times said in Friday's editions that soon after taking office, Gates argued repeatedly that Guantanamo Bay, where 385 prisoners, including 14 top al Qaeda leaders, are being held, had become "so tainted abroad" by allegations of torture and abuse that any trials held there would be widely viewed as illegitimate. He said the trials should instead be moved to the United States.

He was joined in calling for the facility's closing by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, administration officials said. But their arguments were rejected by Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and Vice President Dick Cheney's office – and ultimately by President Bush.

But the fight may not be over. A senior administration official tells the Times the future of the embattled attorney general, embroiled in the flap over the firings of U.S. attorneys, could influence the White House view on the future of Gitmo.

"Let’s see what happens to Gonzales," the official aid. “I suspect this one isn’t over yet.”

Grizzlies' Rebound Could Mean They'll Be Hunted

The Bush administration is removing grizzly bears at Yellowstone National Park from the endangered species list after more than three decades.

And that could mean they'll be hunted again, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Two centuries ago there were more than 50,000 grizzlies in the lower 48 states. But by the mid-1970s, they had been "hounded and hunted to near-extinction."

Thanks to the federal protections, there has been a grizzly bear revival. Their population in and around Yellowstone has risen from fewer than 200 in 1975 to about 600 now.

"There is simply no way to overstate what an amazing accomplishment this is," Deputy Interior Secretary Lynn Scarlett said.

But taking the bears off the list could allow them to be hunted again on a limited basis in some parts of Yellowstone region.

Critics vowed a battle over the government's action.

"We're going to take action to fight this," Louisa Willcox of the Natural Resources Defense Council said. "It's ill conceived and premature."

 

[sara1981]

Schneider: Elizabeth Edwards may be husband's biggest asset
Schneider: Elizabeth Edwards may be husband's biggest asset - CNN.com

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The personal is now political. We hear that all the time. Elizabeth Edwards has been called John Edwards' greatest campaign asset. That may have been true Thursday with her display of courage and confidence.

As she addressed a crowd of reporters in North Carolina about her cancer coming back, was she making a political statement? Of course she was. Just by showing up.

"One of the reasons to do a press conference as opposed to a press release is so that you can see, I don't look sickly, I don't feel sickly," she said. (Watch the Edwardses say his political campaign will continue )

Mrs. Edwards was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2004. She went to the hospital on Monday for pain in her side and doctors saw something suspicious in her X-ray. The Edwards were told on Wednesday that the cancer had returned to her bones.

By talking about the ordeal herself, Elizabeth Edwards made it clear that she was very much behind her husband's decision to continue his campaign.

Otherwise, if he had just gotten up and said, "I'm continuing with my campaign, we'll put out a statement,'' he might have been criticized for not taking his wife's condition seriously enough. The fact that she was there, by his side, made all the difference: it was their decision, not his.

Her husband was making a political statement, too, by not saying anything about his campaign until he was asked. When a reporter asked Edwards if he was going to suspend any campaign activities, he replied, "No."

A campaign is a series of tests. Edwards portrayed this as one more. "The maturity and the judgment that's required of the president, especially in these historic times, requires the President to be able to function and focus under very difficult circumstances,'' he said.

This also proves something about him, his wife said: "He has an unbelievable toughness, a reserve that allows him to push forward with what needs to happen."

Edwards hopes success in the early, small-state contests will propel him to victory. Success in those contests depends on personal campaigning, something Edwards was very good at in 2004. New Hampshire State Democratic Party Chair Kathy Sullivan agreed. "People in New Hampshire, when they got to know John Edwards, really started to like him," she said.

That could be even more true this time. Standing with his wife, Edwards said, "We will be in this every step of the way, together.''

In the past, Edwards has been criticized as a rich populist who lives in a mansion. But now it's going to be very hard for anyone to portray him as isolated from the real-life problems ordinary people face.

"We've been confronted with these kind of traumas and struggles already in our life,'' Edwards said.

And we know from our previous experience that when this happens, you have a choice. You can go in the corner and hide, or, you can be tough and go out there and stand up for what you believe in.''

 

[SxyPorkie]

I know about it... saw on tv NEWS since yesterday