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

With expert care, she could maintain good quality of life

By E.J. Mundell
HealthDay Reporter

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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 IV metastatic disease.

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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 IV 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 Dr. Len Lichtenfeld, deputy chief medical officer of the American Cancer Society, said, in a prepared statement, "The outlook for a woman who walks into the doctor's office with metastatic disease is significantly worse than for a woman, like Mrs. Edwards, who presents initially with disease confined to the breast and adjacent lymph nodes. The survival statistic for patients who present with Stage IV disease has no meaning in Mrs. Edwards' case, and should not be interpreted as a suggestion of her survival chances."

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