CHAPEL HILL - Elizabeth Edwards, who closely advised her husband, John, in two bids for the United States presidency and advocated for health care even as her marriage crumbled publicly, died yesterday after a six-year struggle with cancer, aged 61.
She died at her North Carolina home surrounded by her three children, siblings, friends and her estranged husband, John, the family said.
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 family 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 healthcare reform.
President Obama said he spoke to John Edwards and their daughter, Cate, to offer condolences. "In her life, Elizabeth Edwards knew tragedy and pain," Obama said.
"But through all that she endured, Elizabeth revealed a kind of fortitude and grace that will long remain a source of inspiration."
- AP
Health care advocate an inspiration: Obama
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