(CNN) - Elizabeth Edwards is surrounded by family and friends in her North Carolina home after being informed by her doctors that further cancer treatment would be unproductive.
"Elizabeth has been advised by her doctors that further treatment of her cancer would be unproductive," the Edwards family said Monday in a statement. "She is resting at home with family and friends and has posted this message to friends on her Facebook page."
The message from Edwards, the wife of two-time presidential candidate John Edwards, reads:
"You all know that I have been sustained throughout my life by three saving graces – my family, my friends, and a faith in the power of resilience and hope. These graces have carried me through difficult times and they have brought more joy to the good times than I ever could have imagined. The days of our lives, for all of us, are numbered. We know that. And, yes, there are certainly times when we aren't able to muster as much strength and patience as we would like. It's called being human.
"But I have found that in the simple act of living with hope, and in the daily effort to have a positive impact in the world, the days I do have are made all the more meaningful and precious. And for that I am grateful. It isn't possible to put into words the love and gratitude I feel to everyone who has and continues to support and inspire me every day. To you I simply say: you know."
Edwards was told by her doctors last week that additional cancer treatments were futile, said a source close to the family. Her prognosis was described in terms of weeks, not months, the source said.
She is receiving treatment and medications, however, for symptoms and side effects.
"She is not in pain, Elizabeth is in good spirits," said the source. "She has prepared for this"
John Edwards and their children are at her side, along with Elizabeth's brother and sister.
Elizabeth Edwards' breast cancer was diagnosed during her husband's vice presidential campaign in 2004. After her initial diagnosis in 2004 and a period on the mend, Edwards announced at the start of her husband's presidential campaign in March 2007 that she had Stage 4 -- terminal -- cancer that had spread from her breast to her bones. She vowed to continue to support her husband's presidential campaign.
As recently as January, Edwards, now 61, said her health had been improving after declining for a period following revelations that John Edwards had had an affair and fathered a child with a woman whom he hired to be his videographer on his 2008 presidential campaign.
John Edwards, a former North Carolina senator and 2004 Democratic vice presidential candidate, has largely stayed out of public sight since admitting the affair to the public in August 2008. Elizabeth Edwards, on the other hand, went on to publish a memoir and embark on a speaking tour that included a retelling of his confession to her.
Elizabeth Edwards had long been a fixture at her husband's side. The two were law school sweethearts who married just days after they took the bar exam together in the summer of 1977.
Though John Edwards later went on to make millions as a trial lawyer, the couple had humble beginnings: He had to borrow money from her parents for a one-night honeymoon. She always wore her $11 wedding ring. For years they spent their anniversaries going to Wendy's, just as they did on their first one.
The couple has four children and survived the loss of son Wade, who died at age 16 in a car accident in 1996.
That is sad. It is hard to hear that kind of news. But I thought her and John split because of the affair..or do I remember wrong?
yes they are estranged.
but she is generous enough to allow him to be there. for their children no doubt.
he's a scumwad.
she is exhibiting class.
and they did have a life and family together.
I've always viewed her as a class act. I'm sorry to read what is basically a death notice.
(CNN) -- Elizabeth Edwards, the estranged wife of former North Carolina senator and presidential candidate John Edwards, died Tuesday after a lengthy battle with cancer. She was 61
She died at the family home in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, according to a statement released by the family.
"Today we have lost the comfort of Elizabeth's presence but she remains the heart of this family," the statement said. "We love her and will never know anyone more inspiring or full of life."
All I can think of is all the shit John & his bimbo put her through in the last year of her life.
Smart chicks can be bimbos too when they pull crap like that one did.
That sucks. Now his kids just have the one fucked up parent. I bet he marries within a year.
You're probably right Cracker. Edwards is such a slimeball. So sad about Elizabeth...
I don't have time to fact check this right now but, I could swear I just heard a news brief saying that protesters are expected at her funeral because she was a gay rights activist. Yup, that's a God lovin' Christian for ya. Fuckin' assholes.
yep. that same bunch of asswipes , Westboro Baptist Church, that pickets veteran funerals.
can you fucking believe it?? that lady deserves some respect!
They are hypocrites! They take issue with one who defends gays yet it's acceptable to disrupt someone's funeral services.
I can't abide stupid people, I just can't. I want to be the Hitler of all the worthless bastards.
I too thought she was a classy lady and handled herself very well when all the crap came down.Cant help but respect Folks like her.From what I can tell,she had a good influence on her kids,so maybe her attitudes and personality will carry on thru her kids.
I don't get where they think this is an okay thing to do. I don't. How does this help their cause? If anything, it would turn people off.
(12-11-2010, 09:30 AM)Duchess Wrote: [ -> ]
I don't get where they think this is an okay thing to do. I don't. How does this help their cause? If anything, it would turn people off.
This is again the Westboro Baptist Church that has been confronted so often by the Patriot Guard.They are lowlifes of the highest order and to understand them would take someone of only their mindset.The courts allow them to do this,as a case recently bought against them by the Father of a fallen Marine was thrown out.They are not much more extreme than Code Pink and Media Benjamin and they bring Families to do this...children included.They incite confrontation and wait for the blowup and then have their camera's ready to only allow the segments of the violence against them by bereaved families and friends,to be given to the media in the attempt to gain sympathy and support from more of the vast collection of idiots this country has to offer.
Was trying to get you a link to their site but the damn 'Puter I'm at right now is too ancient and cant handle it.
Just do a search for them or godhatesfags.com
I have almost gotten to the point where I am hardly ever surprised at some of the fucking Looneytunes and their actions and befiefs..and more distressing....how many actually exist and are propagating their twisted beliefs by passing it on to their kids
protest shit the bed. good.
Raleigh, North Carolina (CNN) -- More than 1,200 mourners, including hundreds who loved and admired Elizabeth Edwards from a distance, packed a Raleigh church Saturday to pay respects to the activist and estranged wife of a failed aspirant to the presidency.
The mourners included Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, who in 2004 picked Edwards' husband, John, to be his vice presidential running mate in an unsuccessful bid for the White House. John and Elizabeth Edwards separated earlier this year after the former North Carolina senator admitted to fathering a child out of wedlock while the couple was married.
John Edwards entered the church just prior to the start of the 1 p.m. service, holding hands with the Edwards' three children, Jack, Emma and Cate.
The funeral opened with a eulogy from Elizabeth Edwards' longtime friend Hargrave McElroy, who made the audience laugh with tales of Elizabeth's competitive nature, particularly with games. She also noted Edwards' love of Christmas, describing how the Edwards family, including John Edwards, decorated their Christmas tree last Saturday, just three days before she died after a long battle with breast cancer at the age of 61.
In addition to McElroy's eulogy, another friend, Glenn Bergenfield, and Edwards' daughter Cate were expected to speak.
Others expected to attend includedNorth Carolina Gov. Ben Perdue; U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan (D-North Carolina); Vicki Kennedy, the wife of the late Sen. Ted Kennedy; John Podesta, a former Clinton administration chief of staff and current head of the Center for American Progress; members of North Carolina's congressional delegation; and more than 100 former campaign staffers.
It was a public ceremony because Edwards was known for insisting, much to the dismay of staffers, that all of her events be open to the public, according to a friend. Supporters say that even though a public funeral might usher some chaos to the event, this is what Edwards would have wanted.
Other public mourners included as many 150 supporters who gathered a few blocks away from the church for a counter-demonstration against a group of picketers from the controversial Westboro Baptist Church assholes.
The Kansas-based congregation is known for its extremist opposition against homosexuals, Jews and other groups and regularly holds protests at funerals for fallen U.S. service members, saying the war's dead are God's punishment for the country tolerating gays and lesbians.
In the end, only five Westboro congregants showed for the protest, which took place in a cold, steady rain.
Following the service at Edenton Street United Methodist Church Edwards will be buried at Raleigh's Historic Oakwood Cemetery, according to office manager Sharon Freed. Earlier this week, Freed told CNN about the proximity of the burial to Edwards' son Wade, who was buried at the cemetery after dying in a 1996 car crash.
daughter: