Year in and year out, cancer claims 1,500 Americans every day. Yesterday, it claimed the life of Elizabeth Edwards, a remarkable woman who was a symbol of strength, hope, inspiration and humanity.

I didn’t know Elizabeth personally, but as a fellow cancer survivor, I felt a special kinship with her, as we survivors often feel for one another whether we really “know” each other or not. And it’s especially painful when one of my fellow survivors doesn’t survive.

Elizabeth Edwards played many roles in her life, but it was how she faced cancer that touched me and so many others. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2004, the day after Kerry-Edwards lost to Bush-Cheney. She was treated and achieved remission until April 2007 when the cancer recurred. At the time, her husband John was leading in the Iowa polls, and together, they chose to continue the campaign.

Forget the politics. It’s what happened next that to me, as a cancer survivor, was appalling. Many criticized Elizabeth for choosing to carry on rather than spend her remaining time with her two young children. Elizabeth’s accusers seemed to be telling her to pack it up, go home and wait to die. Who, I fumed, has the right to tell anyone how to choose to spend their time? If Elizabeth chooses to carry on, I thought, then she was choosing life over death.

And that was classic Elizabeth Edwards. Life dealt her some shattering blows, but she always chose to carry on. Even in the face of death, she chose life. In her own words, “As long as you’re not dead, you’re alive.” Her message to all of us was to grab hold of each day, to make every moment count, to spend our time not worrying about how and when we’re going to die, but to figure out how to live each day.

In the end, Elizabeth died of a disease that still takes too many, too soon, too often, but she didn’t want anyone to say that she lost her battle to cancer. Indeed, no one loses a battle with cancer. That would imply there is a winner. 

The fact is, cancer doesn’t live on after death but our legacies do. And among her many accomplishments, Elizabeth Edwards was a tireless advocate for health care reform and a determined crusader for finding a cure for cancer. She spoke for those who would otherwise not have been heard. And perhaps most importantly, she challenged us all to let go of what is unimportant and to hold on to what is, or simply to live like there’s no tomorrow.

I will miss Elizabeth Edwards. I will miss her grace, her strength, and her humanity. But no one will miss Elizabeth Edwards more than her own family, to whom I extend my deepest condolences and gratitude for sharing this extraordinary, inspiring woman with us all.

Betsy de Parry is the author of The Roller Coaster Chronicles and host of a series of webcasts about cancer. Find her on Facebook or Twitter or email her.