Elizabeth Edwards, the high-profile wife of former Democratic vice presidential candidate John Edwards, died of cancer at 61 in her home in North Carolina on Tuesday, US media reported.
On Monday Edwards said she had stopped cancer treatment after doctors informed her that any further therapy would be useless.
Edwards, who separated from her husband after news that the former senator fathered a child with another woman, has been battling cancer since 2004, when he was John Kerry's running mate on the defeated Democratic ticket.
Media in her home state of North Carolina said that Edwards's family had gathered around her in her final hours, including her husband, who moved back to help car for her and their two young children.
"The days of our lives, for all of us, are numbered," Edwards said on her Facebook page Monday.
"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."
She had noticed a lump on her breast during a presidential campaign trip and began treatment in 2005.
The cancer went into remission after surgery and months of treatment, but it returned in early 2007 as John Edwards was once again campaigning for the White House.
John Edwards dropped out of the political scene when news of his affair broke after he ended his 2008 presidential bid.
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