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October 2007
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CAMPUS NEWS |
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Elizabeth Edwards Headlines Breast Cancer Awareness Month
For Elizabeth Edwards, wife of Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards, speaking out about her breast cancer is an affirmation. “I’m here; I’m still kicking,” said Edwards on Tuesday, October 2, before a crowd of several thousand people at Bender Arena. Edwards, who lectured as part of AU’s third annual Breastival, said she’s making the most of every minute—“for me and my family, and for my sisters across the country.” Edwards first discovered a lump in her breast in fall 2004, while campaigning for her husband in Kenosha, Wis. In March 2007, she announced that her cancer had returned, saying it was treatable, but not curable. “Cancer doesn’t cherry pick the most vulnerable among us . . . that’s the most frightening thing about it,” said the lawyer and mother of three. After announcing her diagnosis, Edwards received 65,000 e-mails and 30,000 letters from well-wishers around the world; she said she drew strength from “the people who reached out, the cancer survivors and those who loved them.” She encouraged the audience, some of whom spoke about their personal battles with cancer, to reach out to those fighting the disease. Simple things, such as sending a card, offering a hug, or sharing a laugh, help people feel less alone. “Cancer patients need to be treated as if they’re someone special, because they are,” said Edwards. The disease, she said, gives patients a greater “appreciation of our own mortality; we feel small joys more keenly.” Edwards’ lecture, which kicked off Breast Cancer Awareness Month at AU, was sponsored by the Kennedy Political Union, Women’s Initiative, and the Women and Politics Institute. -Adrienne Frank, originally published in American Today | |||
