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http://washingtontimes.com/upi-breaking/20041111-073128-1549r.htm

Fortunately, Elizabeth Edwards' breast cancer has not spread. This means it was caught fairly early and her chances of recovery are vastly improved.

She has opted to go the chemotherapy route, followed by a lumpectomy and radiation therapy. This will allow her to avoid a full or partial mastectomy. Something important to note: It used to be considered safer to have a full-mastectomy - the thinking was that if you remove the entire breast, you have a good chance of catching all the cancer cells and there will be none left to spread. Well, recent studies have shown that the survival rate for full-mastectomy patients vs. chemo & lumpectomy patients is basically the same. So this method is now used more often in early-discovery cases because it allows the patient to keep her breast.