Shortly after Elizabeth Edwards revealed that her breast cancer had metastasized in March of 2007, she delivered a speech in Cleveland then sat down at a table to autograph books.
A black woman approached Edwards and whispered in her ear: "My name is Sheila and I'm afraid for my children. I have a lump in my breast and I don't have money to go to a doctor."
Edwards, the keynote speaker at a luncheon on health disparity Thursday, said she continues to make health-care reform one of the causes of her life because of people such as Sheila.
"I felt like this woman was giving me a job to do," Edwards said. "I have the great benefit of having a large microphone."
Faces of a Healthy Future is a four-day conference that is being presented by Winston-Salem State University's Center of Excellence for the Elimination of Health Disparities.
Edwards spoke about disparities in breast cancer, a disease that she has publicly battled. Edwards was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2004, and underwent a lumpectomy and chemotherapy. In March, 2007, during her husband's campaign for president, she revealed that her cancer had returned and was terminal.
A few minutes before taking the stage, Edwards sat in a small room at the Embassy Suites and took a short break from reviewing her speech to talk about her health.
"I'm feeling well, and I'm getting my treatments regularly," Edwards said. "My back hurts sometimes, but I'm almost 60, I have two young children and I've been moving furniture in my new furniture store so exactly why my back aches is unclear. But I'm feeling very hopeful about my long-term treatment program."
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