March 25, 2007, CBSNews
(CBS) When John and Elizabeth Edwards announced this past Thursday
that her breast cancer had returned and spread to her bones, and that his
presidential campaign would continue, they sparked a national discussion about
the choices involved.
At this stage Elizabeth's cancer is incurable and
treatment doesn't always prolong life. Was it the right decision to stay in the
race? Can John Edwards run for president and care for his wife and family, a
family that has already suffered the death of a son more than a decade ago? Can
John Edwards be president without being distracted by his wife's illness?
Those are some of the questions
60 Minutes correspondent
Katie Couric asked the couple this weekend after a campaign event in Las
Vegas.
Katie Couric:
Elizabeth, first and foremost, how are
you feeling?
Elizabeth Edwards:
Actually, I feel fine. I
mean, except for a cracked rib that is completely unrelated to any of the more
serious issues I face, I feel terrific.
Katie Couric:
Have
you found that people are relating to you a bit differently with this news?
Elizabeth Edwards:
Well, I mean, I had somebody... hug me...
in the last hour with a tear going down the side of her face. And I'm actually
hoping that's one of the things that this discussion will fix. That people will
see that – that you're not necessarily dying of cancer but you can also live
with cancer and that – and you can live a full life. Concentrate on the things
that matter to you.
We're all going to die. And I pretty much know what
I'm going to die of now. But I – I do want to live as full and normal a life as
I can from this point on.
Katie Couric:
Have you received
any additional information the last couple of days about where the cancer might
have spread other than this area of your ribs?
Elizabeth Edwards:
That was... there... we... there are a couple of hot spots, on the bone
scan, in my right hip, for example. And one of the questions is whether or not
to do radiation to reduce the size of that – of the cancer in that location and
for fear that it might weaken my bone and that I might break my hip. But their
consensus was that it was too small an area for that to be a risk.
So,
you know, we were on a real roller coaster, the two of us, on Wednesday.
Katie Couric:
Tell me about that roller coaster.
John
Edwards:
Well, we went to the hospital... and it became pretty clear to
me that there were at least two or three suspicious places on the bone scan.
Elizabeth looked at it and saw exactly the same thing. Both of us were worried
before we even had the doctor interpret the bone scan. And then the doctor came
in and confirmed what – what both of us already thought, which is that it looked
like metastatic disease. That it looked like it-- it-- the cancer was back.
Katie Couric:
Tell me what went through your mind when you
looked at that bone scan?
John Edwards:
Pain – hurt, I mean,
I was – for me, I was very worried about the woman I love more than anything.
I was pacing back and forth in the room where the bone scan was being
done trying to look at it from every angle and see if it...
Elizabeth
Edwards:
Went away somewhere?
John Edwards:
Yeah, I
wanted it to go away. It didn't go away.
Katie Couric:
Were
you terrified you might lose your wife?
John Edwards:
Of
course, absolutely, but I've been worried about that for... for several years
now.
Katie Couric:
That must have been hard once again to
have to face your kids and to talk to Emma Claire and Jack who are 8 and 6. That
is tough.
What did you say?
John Edwards:
I said,
"Well, Mommy's cancer's back."
And they said, "Can she die from this?"
And I said, "Yes, but she could live a very long time."
And then
Elizabeth said all of us are going to die eventually. We’re all gonna die from
something. And mommy knows now what she’s probably going to die from.
Katie Couric:
Can you describe the decision making process
for me in terms of what should we do now? Do we stay in? Do we suspend it
temporarily? Do I call the whole thing off? Do we call the whole thing off? How
did that unfold?
John Edwards:
Well, first the decision was
made by the two of us, no one else... as it should be. And she said to me, "This
is what we believe in. This is what we're spending our lives doing. It's where
our heart and soul is. And we can not stop."
The doctor came in. And I
said, "I need to know. We have a tough decision to make. We know what we want to
do. But I need to know whether Elizabeth can physically do this and I don't mean
physically stay at home and watch me do it. I mean, can she physically do it, go
out on the campaign trail, do all the work that needs to be done?"
The
country's going to want to hear from her, and I knew that. And the doctor said
yes she absolutely could physically do it.
Elizabeth Edwards:
You
know, you really have two choices here. I mean, either you push forward with the
things that you were doing yesterday or you start dying. That seems to be your
only two choices. If I had given up everything that my life was about – first of
all, I'd let cancer win before it needed to. You know, maybe eventually it will
win. But I'd let it win before I needed to.
And I'd just basically start
dying. I don't want to do that. I want to live. And I want to do the work that I
want next year to look like last year and... and the year after that and the
year after that. And the only way to do that is to say I'm going to keep on with
my life.
Katie Couric:
At your press conference, you
were both extremely confident, very upbeat.
Elizabeth said, “Right now
we feel incredibly optimistic. I don’t expect my life to be significantly
different.”
And I think some people wondered if you were in denial, if
you were being realistic about what you were going to be facing here.
Elizabeth Edwards:
I... I... I... I think that it is our
intention to deny cancer any control over us.
And though I know there
are people who live short lives, I feel optimistic, not because I've got
rose-colored glasses on, but because I know that I have only low-volume... a
small amount of cancer in my bones.
John Edwards:
We don't
understate or misunderstand the seriousness of this. I mean, this could kill
her, and we know it. And what we won't choose to do is... we choose to live our
lives fully, and with strength and optimism. We get to make that choice.
And that's what we choose.
Katie Couric:
Your
decision to stay in this race has been analyzed, and quite frankly judged by a
lot of people. And some say, what you're doing is courageous, others say it's
callous. Some say, "Isn't it wonderful they care for something greater than
themselves?" And others say, "It's a case of insatiable ambition." You say?
John Edwards:
I say all of those judgments and questions are
entirely legitimate. I mean, you offer yourself up for service to the country as
the President of the United States, you deserve to be evaluated. I am perfectly
open to that evaluation. I think that I know, when I'm running for president,
I'm running for president because I want to serve this country, and because I
want all people in America to have the same kind of chances that I've had.
I've come from nothing to now have everything. And I think everybody in
this country, no matter who their family is, or what the color of their skin,
ought to get that chance.
But, throughout this process, people will be
able to see very clearly into what we do, what we say, how we behave, and they
can evaluate for themselves whether they think I'm, in fact, doing this for the
right reason.
We know the truth. We know the truth, but I think it's a
fair judgment for Americans to make.
Elizabeth Edwards:
Cancer took a lot away from us a few years ago. It took a year of my life
and a lot of John's. I didn't want it to take this away not just from me but
from those people who depend on our having the kind of president he would be.
Katie Couric:
Here you're staring at possible death...
Elizabeth Edwards:
Aren't we all though.
Katie
Couric:
And you're thinking, "I don't want to deprive the country of
having my husband lead us."
Elizabeth Edwards:
That would be
my legacy wouldn't it, Katie. That I'd... that I'd... that I'd... that I'd taken
out this fine man from the possibility of giving a great service. I mean, I
don't want that to be my legacy.
Katie Couric:
Politics, as
you know, can be a cynical business.
John Edwards:
No!
Katie Couric:
You didn't know that?
John
Edwards:
Yeah, I was not aware of that.
Katie Couric:
Glad I... (laughter) I’m glad I could teach you something today. Some have
suggested that you're capitalizing on this.
John Edwards:
Here's what I would say about that.
First of all, there's not a
single person in America that should vote for me because Elizabeth has cancer.
Not a one. If you're considering doing it, don't do it. Do not vote for us
because you feel some sympathy or compassion for us. That would be an enormous
mistake. The vote for the presidency is far too important for any of those
things to influence it.
But, I think every single candidate for
president, Republican and Democratic have lives, personal lives, that indicate
something about what kind of human being they are. And I think it is a fair
evaluation for America to engage in to look at what kind of human beings each of
us are, and what kind of president we'd make.
Katie Couric:
Some people watching this would say, "I would put my family first always,
and my job second." And you're doing the exact opposite. You're putting your
work first, and your family second.
John Edwards:
But this is
not work. Work is what I did as a lawyer. This is service. This is... this is a
country that I love – both of us love, as much as we love our lives.
Katie Couric:
I guess some people would say that there's some
middle ground. You don't have to necessarily stay at home and feel sorry for
yourself, and do nothing. But, if given a finite – a possibly finite period of
time on the planet – being on the campaign trail, away from my children, a lot
of time, and sort of pursuing this goal, is not, necessarily, what I'd do.
John Edwards:
Well, but we all... we are all different,
number one. Number two, we all have a finite period time, and the idea that we
know what that finite period is, is a fantasy to begin with.
Elizabeth Edwards:
We learned that in ’96.
John
Edwards:
As we learned in 1996, with our son. We don’t know what’s gonna
happen. We don't know what's gonna happen tomorrow. We have to live today the
best way we know how. And that's exactly what the two of us are doing. I do
think, though, that we have to be very sensitive about the tension that exists
between our wanting to serve our country, and our children.
Elizabeth Edwards:
We have been contemplating all the
different ways that we can make certain that they are with us as much as
possible. I've often said that the most important thing you can give your
children (is) wings. Because, you're not gonna always be able to bring food to
the nest. You're... sometimes... they're gonna have to be able to fly by
themselves.
Katie Couric:
They're 6 and 8. They're still baby
birds.
Elizabeth Edwards:
They are still baby birds. But...
John Edwards:
But they've got to start learning to fly. And
they're not ready to fly on their own yet, but they've got to start learning.
Katie Couric:
Even those who may be very empathetic to what
you all are facing might question your ability to run the country at the same
time you're dealing with a major health crisis in your family.
John
Edwards:
Well, all I can tell you is I know from my own life experience
that I can do it. I don't have to guess about that.
Second, people will
be able to watch during the course of this campaign. And I ask them to watch.
Katie Couric:
Can you understand their concern, though,
Senator Edwards, that gosh, at a time when we're living in a world that is so
complicated and so dangerous that the president cannot be distracted by, rightly
so, caring about his wife's situation?
John Edwards:
I care
about her situation. I love her. And I'm gonna always care about her situation.
But I understand that I have a responsibility to this country. It's why we're
doing this.
And that responsibility includes the ability to focus and
have clarity when hard judgments have to be made. I am completely convinced that
I can do that. And it's for the country to determine whether they agree.
Katie Couric:
You said, this weekend, "I am definitely in the
race for the duration." If you want to give the honest answer, how can you say
that, Senator Edwards, with such certainty? If, God forbid, Elizabeth doesn't
respond to whatever treatment is recommended, if her health deteriorates, would
you really say that?
John Edwards:
We have every reason to be
optimistic to be right now. I believe in my heart and soul that Elizabeth is
going to do well. I do believe that.
She will be out there campaigning
with me, and separately.
And if you ask me today, whether I'm in this
campaign for the duration, the answer to that question is, "Yes."