Elizabeth Edwards Dies at 61

Elizabeth Edwards was diagnosed with breast cancer during the 2004 Democratic presidential campaign of her husband, John Edwards. The couple remained quiet about the diagnosis at the time in the interest of the campaign. (AP2007)

Edwards' cancer entered remission after months of treatment, but it resurfaced in 2007, as John Edwards was gearing up for a second presidential campaign. The cancer was more aggressive this time, and returned in her bones. Doctors told Elizabeth that while the cancer was treatable, it was not curable. Again the couple agreed that the cancer wouldn't derail his candidacy. (AP2010)

Edwards had endured a brief period where she said that her health had actually been improving after declining amidst the revelations by her husband that he had been having an affair. The Edwards have four children together. (AP2009)

Elizabeth testified along with fellow cancer patient Lance Armstrong at the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Hearing in 2008. She was not a stranger to politics, having been a driving force behind her husband's political career.  (AP2008)

Former Democratic presidential nominee and North Carolina Sen. John Edwards has been out of the public spotlight since revealing his affair with a former videographer he hired for his campaign. John Edwards fathered a child with the woman, and John and Elizabeth later separated.  (AP2007)

Elizabeth Edwards was a fixture during all of John's campaigns, never letting the cancer deter her. (AP2007)

Elizabeth made the formal announcement in March 2007 that she had Stage 4 terminal cancer that had spread from her breast to her bones. (AP2007)

April 12, 2007: Elizabeth Edwards, wife of Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards, is greeted by supporters before speaking at the official opening of the Edwards for President campaign headquarters in Des Moines, Iowa. (AP2007)

July 28, 2004: Cate Edwards, daughter of Democratic vice presidential candidate Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C.., introduces her mother Elizabeth Edwards on stage during the Democratic National Convention in Boston. (AP2004)

July 27, 2004: Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C. holds his daughter Emma Claire, 6, as his wife Elizabeth, holds their son Jack, 4,while departing Edwards' campaign plane in Boston. (AP2004)

July 30, 1977: Elizabeth and John Edwards on their wedding day. (AP1977)