Elizabeth Edwards Dies at 61

Elizabeth Edwards, the wife of former presidential candidate John Edwards, loses her battle with cancer.
By Miriam Reimer ,

(Elizabeth Edwards report updated with additional details.)

NEW YORK (

TheStreet

) -- Elizabeth Edwards passed away on Tuesday, according to a report on

CNBC

.

Edwards, best-selling author and the wife of former presidential candidate John Edwards, battled breast cancer. She was 61 years old.

Earlier this week, Edwards issued a statement that she had chosen to stop treatments.

"Elizabeth has been advised by her doctors that further treatment of her cancer would be unproductive," Edwards' family said in a statement. "She is resting at home with family and friends."

The breast cancer had spread to Edwards' liver and was apparently too aggressive for treatment to be effective.

Edwards' cancer was reportedly among the most common forms of breast cancer, an estrogen receptor-positive (ER-positive) type. It is the type of breast cancer that leads to the most deaths,

ABC News

reported.

She was first diagnosed in 2004.

Edwards recently posted a message on her Facebook page: "You all know that I have been sustained throughout my life by three saving graces -- my family, my friends, and a faith in the power of resilience and hope. These graces have carried me through difficult times and they have brought more joy to the good times than I ever could have imagined."

"The days of our lives, for all of us, are numbered. 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," Edwards continued.

"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."

Dr. Daniel Hayes, clinical director of the Breast Oncology Program at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center in Ann Arbor, told

ABC News

that "the decision when to stop chemotherapy and focus on symptom management is one of the most gut-wrenching we face, especially in breast cancer, because there are so many therapies with some chance of working, but that chance decreases with each successive regimen, while

treatment toxicity remains the same or increases."

-- Written by Miriam Marcus Reimer in New York.

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