UPDATED: On Edwards's Campaign and Breast Cancer

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Thursday March 22, 2007 · 8:28 AM PDT

2007/03/22 · 08:28

John Edwards has apparently not decided to suspend his campaign in light of his wife's cancer recurrence. I believed a suspension would be a heroic decision, but continuing on the fight for a better America is heroic too.

I remember the day in 2002 when my mom called me to tell me that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer. It was early and very treatable, but it was still cancer. My then-girlfriend (now wife) was a veteran of this process, as her grandmother had beat breast cancer once and her mother had beat it twice. A week or so later, we were at the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins. My dad and I waited through most of the day there, and come evening, they gave us the good news. They subsequently had to remove my mother's breasts and reconstruct them so as to prevent a recurrence and we haven't had any complications yet.

The next year, Mrs. Sox went in for her first mammogram. Because she was younger than the age threshhold her insurer had set for mammography, they refused to cover it.

More after the jump.

I begged Mrs. Sox to go anyway, offering to cover however much of the cost was necessary, and she went, thankfully having no signs of cancer. At our wedding, Mrs. Sox and I made a contribution to the American Cancer Society in lieu of those stupid gifts that all the guests throw out anyway.

Breast cancer runs in both my family and my wife's family. One day, one of us may have to pass up opportunities and ambitions to deal with this scourge. Senator Edwards has made a heroic and difficult decision. Windows of presidential opportunity don't open very often, especially after primary and general election defeats in the previous cycle. But nothing is more important than helping a loved one fight cancer.

My pet issue has recently been expanding mammogram coverage to younger Americans, and I think John Edwards can be a leading force on this issue. Pop singer Anastacia has taken an initiative on this, and I hope to have an impact on expanding coverage myself. Insurance companies don't go about looking to cover more care and not everyone realizes how deadly breast cancer can be, increasingly at younger ages. If John Edwards winds up not being a candidate in 2008, there could be no greater tribute to his strength as a leader than to lead the fight against breast cancer.

Addendum: Since Edwards is continuing to run, I hope he can use his family's situation to highlight the need for more preventative care adn treatment of cancer.

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UPDATED: On Edwards's Campaign and Breast Cancer

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