A major announcement came Thursday from presidential candidate John Edwards about his wife Elizabeth.
"The result of the xray showed she may have a fracture on the left side and also there's something suspicious in a rib on the right side," Edwards said at a news conference.
Doctors say her cancer is back and can never be cured.
John and Elizabeth Edwards made the announcement in Chapel Hill.
Despite the bad news, he says he will continue with his presidential campaign.
"Both of us are committed to the cause. We are committed to changing this country that we love so much, and we have no intention of cowering in the corner," he said.
Mrs. Edwards was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2004.
Then earlier this week, doctors discovered a new tumor while checking on a broken rib.
A biopsy showed it was malignant.
10 On Your Side spoke with a local doctor about this type of cancer. He says it's not curable, but it is treatable? Yes, and controllable.
Elizabeth Edwards own physician says the same thing, but went to get a second opinion as to what we heard during the news conference.
The situation for Ms. Edwards is serious, unwelcomed but at this point, not life threatening.
John Edwards revealed wife Elizabeth's breast cancer has spread to a right rib bone.
It's called metastatic, or stage four cancer, and that is not good news.
'Anytime the cancer spreads it is not a good sign. You don't want it to show up again." Dr. Paul Conkling with Virginia Oncology Associates told us.
Dr. Conkling says the problem with Ms. Edwards spreading cancer is that it can spread to other areas too. And that may already have happened.
Edwards' oncologist, Dr. Lisa Carey, said: "In addition to the bone, possibly the lung."
Edwards treatment could begin in two weeks. Exactly what that treatment is, even her Dr. doesn't know yet.
"There are a lot of effective treatments. She is not hurting. She has no symptoms."
Dr. Conkling agrees with that, and says you really can't predict anything on what happens next.
Dr. Carey points out the good news is Edwards appears healthy.
But reality is what it is, optimism will be a key ingredient for whatever happens next.
"We are very optimistic. I will do all the things this week I did last week," said Elizabeth Edwards.
It would appear Ms. Edwards cancer is from the breast cancer three years ago.
It was explained this way: Cancers send out cells into the body, and they lay dorment -sometimes forever. But in 20% of cancer patients those cells blossom somewhere else in the body.
And that has happened to Ms. Edwards.
So the news tonight - Elizabeth Edwards' cancer can not be cured, but it is treatable and controllable.
Edwards says wife's cancer has returned, but he will continue campaign
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) -- John Edwards said Thursday his wife's cancer has returned, but said he will continue his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination.
"The campaign goes on. The campaign goes on strongly," Edwards told reporters, his wife by his side.
John Edwards had canceled a Tuesday evening house party in Iowa to go with his wife to a doctor's appointment, which his campaign described as a follow-up to a routine test she had Monday.
The campaign refused to comment on Elizabeth Edwards' health Wednesday, fueling speculation about a recurrence of the cancer and raising questions about the political future of the 2004 vice presidential nominee.
Edwards put those questions to rest although he said: "Any time, any place I need to be with Elizabeth I will be there -- period."
Mrs. Edwards, 57, was first diagnosed with cancer in the final weeks of the 2004 campaign. The day after Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry and Edwards, his running mate, conceded the election to George W. Bush, Edwards announced that his wife had invasive ductal cancer, the most common type of breast cancer, and would undergo treatment.
Mrs. Edwards underwent several months of radiation and chemotherapy for the lump in her breast. Her husband's campaign has said she had recovered from the illness.
"I don't look sickly, I don't feel sickly. I am as ready as any person can be for that," she said at the news conference.
John Edwards said a biopsy of her rib had showed that the cancer had returned.
The bone is one of the most common places where breast cancer spreads, and once it does so it is not considered curable.
But how long women survive depends on how widespread the cancer is in the bone, and many can survive for years. The longer it takes for cancer to spread after the initial tumor, the better the prognosis. She was diagnosed in 2004.
Chemotherapy and radiation are standard treatments, along with use of drugs that specifically target the bones called bisphosphonates. Other treatments include hormone therapy if the cancer is responsive to estrogen.
(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
APTV-03-22-07 1244EDT