Elizabeth Edwards cancer has returned

Democratic Presidential hopeful John Edwards talks about his wife Elizabeth's recurrence of cancer as she listens during a news conference in Chapel Hill, N.C., Thursday, March 22, 2007. Edwards will continue his campaign for the presidency. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

This is all over the news here--ABC, CBS, MSNBC, CNN, New York Times, and The Washington Post:

Former Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.) today announced he would stay in the 2008 presidential race today even though his wife Elizabeth's breast cancer has recurred and will require further treatment.

"The campaign goes on," he said.

The couple made the announcement at a joint press conference that was hastily arranged after they visited Elizabeth Edwards' doctor yesterday for a follow-up exam.

Speaking from his home state of North Carolina, Edwards said he would not put his presidential aspirations on hold while his wife undergoes treatment for the disease.

Medical tests yesterday confirmed that Elizabeth Edwards' cancer had returned, the couple announced.

"The biopsy showed the cancer had returned and it was malignant," John Edwards said. "We are very optimistic about this."

The cancer, he said, is "treatable."

The appearance in Chapel Hill came on the heels of a last-minute decision by Edwards this week to cancel an event in Iowa to accompany his wife to a doctor's appointment yesterday. Elizabeth Edwards was diagnosed with breast cancer at the end of her husband's unsuccessful 2004 campaign as the Democratic vice presidential nominee. She subsequently underwent extensive treatment.

A couple of things here. First, I would certainly hope for the best for Elizabeth Edwards in her cancer treatment. It is certainly not good when a cancer you thought you had treated, suddenly returns.

Now the Edwards campaign. This is a big shock for the Edwards campaign--especially after John Edwards canceled the political campaign event in Iowa to be with his wife. There were some rumors and speculation that Edwards was suspending the campaign. At the press conference, Edwards said, "The campaign goes on." According to The Polling Report, Edwards is running in third place behind Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. But we're still ten months away from the Iowa caucus. The re-emergence of Elizabeth Edwards cancer is a serious cloud over the Edwards campaign. She may be healthy and fine at this moment, as the doctors perform a new series of tests and treatment for her. But who is to say when or where the cancer will spread within her? Who is to say what the situation will be like for Elizabeth Edwards on this same day next year? That's the problem.

But it is a problem that the Edwards campaign will have to face if, or when, it occurs. I would have to guess that John Edwards seriously considered suspending his presidential campaign, considering the Politico story. And that it may have been at Elizabeth's insistence that John Edwards continue the campaign. I can't really say yet. This is a strong couple. They have made their decision together. And the Edwards campaign shall continue on.