Elizabeth Edwards z'l

I was sad to hear last night of Elizabeth Edwards's death. My list serv of women with metastatic breast cancer was abuzz with the news of her turn for the worse. Her death brought to the forefront fears and concerns for these women from their families and spouses.

The common thread of shared concerns goes something like this:

Even though I knew it was inevitable, when I learned of Elizabeth Edwards's death, I felt as though I had been punched.

She handled herself with dignity and grace. 

Why did she have to go?  

Why did she have to suffer so much in the last few years of her life?

Every time we lose another mets sister, it gets closer and closer to home. 

I'm scared.

Things moved very quickly, as is often the case with advanced cancer. Death can take place weeks or even days after stopping treatment.

What I admire most about Elizabeth Edwards was her commitment to living her life fully, even with the diagnosis of metastatic cancer.

"We didn't try to prettify that in any way. This is the way it is," Edwards told ABC News in 2007 of the conversation she had with her children about her cancer. "But we also said, at the same time, you know, everybody who's sitting at this table who's not going to die, raise your hand. And they realized that we're all going to die. But we are also extraordinarily honest with them because there will come a day when they're going to have to accept that cancer has, at some point, taken me."


Zichrono l'vracha, may Elizabeth Edwards's memory be for a blessing to all who knew her.