Elizabeth Edwards gravely ill with cancer

WASHINGTON – Elizabeth Edwards, stoic as her husband’s presidential ambitions collapsed, her marriage crumbled and cancer sapped her strength, thanked her supporters online Monday as word spread the disease may take her life within weeks.

“The days of our lives, for all of us, are numbered,” Edwards wrote on her Facebook page. “We know that. And yes, there are certainly times when we aren’t able to muster as much strength and patience as we would like. It’s called being human. But I have found that in the simple act of living with hope, and in the daily effort to have a positive impact in the world, the days I do have are made all the more meaningful and precious. And for that I am grateful.”

The Edwards family issued a statement that said doctors have told Edwards that further treatment for her cancer would be unproductive. And a family friend who is among those who have gathered with Edwards at her North Carolina home told the Associated Press that she is gravely ill.

Edwards was briefly hospitalized last week and received treatment, but doctors have now told her that she may only have up to a couple months of life left, the friend said. The friend spoke on condition of anonymity.

Edwards’ estranged husband, former presidential candidate John Edwards, and their three children were at her side at the Chapel Hill home, the friend reported. Her sister, brother, nieces, nephews, former campaign advisers and other friends were also there. The friend said Elizabeth Edwards is not in pain and in good spirits despite the seriousness of her condition.