--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If I had given up everything that my life…" description: "\"If I had given up everything that my life was about ... I'd let cancer win before it needed to.\" — Elizabeth Edwards" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c49/elizabeth-edwards-3857_cancer_if-i-had-given-up-everything-that-my-lif_3148021.png" --- # If I had given up everything that my life was about… ![“If I had given up everything that my life was about ... I'd let cancer win before it needed to.” quote by Elizabeth Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c49/elizabeth-edwards-3857_cancer_if-i-had-given-up-everything-that-my-lif_3148021.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c49/elizabeth-edwards-3857_cancer_if-i-had-given-up-everything-that-my-lif_3148021.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c49/elizabeth-edwards-3857_cancer_if-i-had-given-up-everything-that-my-lif_3148021.png) > “If I had given up everything that my life was about ... I'd let cancer win before it needed to.” [Elizabeth Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-edwards/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Choosing to fight illness reflects a deeper commitment to purpose and loved ones, refusing surrender even when odds seem overwhelming. **In simple terms:** Fighting disease shows dedication to life's meaning. Key Takeaway Hold onto purpose, fight relentlessly. Themes resilience purpose health family Mood determined hopeful Type inspirational motivational When to use this quote - personal health crisis - family support - advocacy - public speaking Key Concepts Existential meaning psychological endurance Questions to Reflect On - What purpose fuels your perseverance? - How can you support others facing similar battles? A Different Perspective Illness may limit physical ability, making perseverance harder. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cancer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cancer/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Winning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/winning/) ## Related quotes > [Cancer has changed, and so have I. Life goes on, even becomes normal again. I refused to let cancer wreck my party. There are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kris-carr/cancer-has-changed-and-so-have-i-life-goes-on-even-becomes-normal/) [Kris Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kris-carr/) > [My philosophy, don't let cancer ruin your life. You get up every day and use what you have and what time you have left.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-henderson/my-philosophy-don-t-let-cancer-ruin-your-life-you-get-up-every-day/) [Paul Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-henderson/) > [At the end of the day, what have I got? A successful Singapore. What have I given up? My life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-kuan-yew/at-the-end-of-the-day-what-have-i-got-a-successful-singapore-what/) [Lee Kuan Yew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-kuan-yew/) > [You've given up your whole life to be the person you are now. Is it worth it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-bach/you-ve-given-up-your-whole-life-to-be-the-person-you-are-now-is-it/) [Richard Bach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-bach/) > [I can't imagine pain greater than stepping across the veil and realizing I had not done what I came here to do - or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheri-l-dew/i-can-t-imagine-pain-greater-than-stepping-across-the-veil-and/) [Sheri L. Dew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheri-l-dew/) > [A flash of resentment. It's hard enough being alive, trying to survive in the world and find your place in it, to do the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/a-flash-of-resentment-it-s-hard-enough-being-alive-trying-to-survive/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [I think that it is our intention to deny cancer any control over us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-edwards/i-think-that-it-is-our-intention-to-deny-cancer-any-control-over-us/) [Elizabeth Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-edwards/) > [“A soulmate will never leave you. They will always be apart of your life until one day the chance is given for them to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/faye-hall/a-soulmate-will-never-leave-you-they-will-always-be-apart-of-your/) [Faye Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/faye-hall/) > [“This earth is a garden, this life a banquet, and it's time we realized that it was given to all life, animal and man,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-earth-is-a-garden-this-life-a-banquet-and-it-s-time-we-realized/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [...the reading, the observing, the living from day to day. It was something that had been born into her and her only - the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/the-reading-the-observing-the-living-from-day-to-day-it-was-something/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) > [I would be killed by an atheistic government which was trying to force me to renounce my God-fearing government. I was convinced that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremiah-denton/i-would-be-killed-by-an-atheistic-government-which-was-trying-to/) [Jeremiah Denton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremiah-denton/) > [I have given my life to the game and to the sport.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hope-solo/i-have-given-my-life-to-the-game-and-to-the-sport/) [Hope Solo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hope-solo/) > [You were given this life because you're strong enough to live it, so never have any regrets because at some point everything you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/you-were-given-this-life-because-you-re-strong-enough-to-live-it-so/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) > [You were given life cause you are strong enough to live in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/savannah-j/you-were-given-life-cause-you-are-strong-enough-to-live-in-it/) [Savannah J](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/savannah-j/) > [Human To GOD: 'Please Give Me EVERYTHING So That I Can Enjoy LIFE.' GOD Smiled And Replied: 'I Have Given You LIFE To Enjoy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pacifiersucker/human-to-god-please-give-me-everything-so-that-i-can-enjoy-life-god/) Pacifiersucker ## More by Elizabeth Edwards > [Every parent has gone through a period when their child wasn't so happy with them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-edwards/every-parent-has-gone-through-a-period-when-their-child-wasn-t-so/) [Elizabeth Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-edwards/) > [If I had lost a leg, I would tell them, instead of a boy, no one would ever ask me if I was 'over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-edwards/if-i-had-lost-a-leg-i-would-tell-them-instead-of-a-boy-no-one-would/) [Elizabeth Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-edwards/) > [A lot of sad stories in a row - that wears on you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-edwards/a-lot-of-sad-stories-in-a-row-that-wears-on-you/) [Elizabeth Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-edwards/) > [Resilience is accepting your new reality, even if it's less good than the one you had before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-edwards/resilience-is-accepting-your-new-reality-even-if-it-s-less-good-than/) [Elizabeth Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-edwards/) > [The military is already sexually integrated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-edwards/the-military-is-already-sexually-integrated/) [Elizabeth Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-edwards/) > [I was a 16-year-old girl at one point, so of course I wrote poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-edwards/i-was-a-16-year-old-girl-at-one-point-so-of-course-i-wrote-poetry/) [Elizabeth Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-edwards/) > [Sometimes you get politicians who dig their feet into the sand and aren't willing to listen to another voice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-edwards/sometimes-you-get-politicians-who-dig-their-feet-into-the-sand-and/) [Elizabeth Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-edwards/) > [I have three living children for whom this is a father who I want them to love and on whom they're going to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-edwards/i-have-three-living-children-for-whom-this-is-a-father-who-i-want/) [Elizabeth Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-edwards/) > [I think that it is our intention to deny cancer any control over us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-edwards/i-think-that-it-is-our-intention-to-deny-cancer-any-control-over-us/) [Elizabeth Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-edwards/) > [I love children, love spending time with them; I love getting things for them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-edwards/i-love-children-love-spending-time-with-them-i-love-getting-things/) [Elizabeth Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-edwards/) > [You have to have enough respect for other human beings to leave their lives alone. If you admire that life, build it for yourself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-edwards/you-have-to-have-enough-respect-for-other-human-beings-to-leave-their/) [Elizabeth Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-edwards/) > [She stood in the storm, and when the wind did not blow her way, she adjusted her sails.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-edwards/she-stood-in-the-storm-and-when-the-wind-did-not-blow-her-way-she/) [Elizabeth Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-edwards/) > [I can't turn on the television without seeing me, or open the newspaper without seeing me and, honestly, I'm sick to death of me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-edwards/i-can-t-turn-on-the-television-without-seeing-me-or-open-the/) [Elizabeth Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-edwards/) > [The way campaign funds are distributed are all a matter of record.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-edwards/the-way-campaign-funds-are-distributed-are-all-a-matter-of-record/) [Elizabeth Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-edwards/) > [Brave people are the firemen who run into the burning building. That's brave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-edwards/brave-people-are-the-firemen-who-run-into-the-burning-building-that-s/) [Elizabeth Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-edwards/) [Explore all 120 Elizabeth Edwards quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-edwards/) ## More Cancer quotes > [Women still, when they have breast cancer, go to work; they still lead their lives. They have to. I just did what I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-potter/women-still-when-they-have-breast-cancer-go-to-work-they-still-lead/) [Monica Potter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-potter/) > [If one truly has lost hope, one would not be on hand to say so.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-bentley/if-one-truly-has-lost-hope-one-would-not-be-on-hand-to-say-so/) [Eric Bentley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-bentley/) > [Racism is a cancer. You cannot ignore it and it'll go away. If you ignore cancer, it simply metastasizes and consumes the whole body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daryl-davis/racism-is-a-cancer-you-cannot-ignore-it-and-it-ll-go-away-if-you/) [Daryl Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daryl-davis/) > [Historically, more people have died of religion than cancer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-francis/historically-more-people-have-died-of-religion-than-cancer/) [Dick Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-francis/) > [“Our kind of love can go into remission, but it's always waiting to return. Like the world sweetest cancer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/our-kind-of-love-can-go-into-remission-but-it-s-always-waiting-to/) [Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/) > [Bollywood is a cancer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-banerjee/bollywood-is-a-cancer/) [Victor Banerjee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-banerjee/) > [You should be angry. You must not be bitter. Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. It doesn't do anything to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-should-be-angry-you-must-not-be-bitter-bitterness-is-like-cancer/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [When people go get chemo, they're not injecting themselves with will - I have lost various loved ones to cancer, and I certainly don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-c-hall/when-people-go-get-chemo-they-re-not-injecting-themselves-with-will-i/) [Michael C. Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-c-hall/) > [“the doctor hesitated before breaking the news to her. "those aren't stars. it's cancer." - forty years a smoker”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-lovelace/the-doctor-hesitated-before-breaking-the-news-to-her-those-aren-t/) [Amanda Lovelace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-lovelace/) > [I loved you to the moon and back](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-swift/i-loved-you-to-the-moon-and-back/) [Taylor Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-swift/) > [The risk of developing carcinoma of the lung increases steadily as the amount smoked increases. If the risk among non-smokers is taken as unity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-doll/the-risk-of-developing-carcinoma-of-the-lung-increases-steadily-as/) Richard Doll > [I would do away with super PACs. I think it's a cancer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kent-conrad/i-would-do-away-with-super-pacs-i-think-it-s-a-cancer/) [Kent Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kent-conrad/) > [Aging is like enlightenment at gunpoint. Before I had cancer, I lived my life for my art. After I had cancer, I lived my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-halprin/aging-is-like-enlightenment-at-gunpoint-before-i-had-cancer-i-lived/) [Anna Halprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-halprin/) > [If you are a white male, you don't deserve to live. You are a cancer, you're a disease, white males have never contributed anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noel-ignatiev/if-you-are-a-white-male-you-don-t-deserve-to-live-you-are-a-cancer/) [Noel Ignatiev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noel-ignatiev/) > [The way I look at it is, cancer research is absolutely nonpartisan. Cancer is very democratic in the sense that it attacks people regardless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-h-koch/the-way-i-look-at-it-is-cancer-research-is-absolutely-nonpartisan/) [David H. Koch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-h-koch/) [Browse all 3,177 Cancer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cancer/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If I had given up everything that my life was about ... 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