Geraldine Ferraro suffering from incurable cancer

Geraldine Ferraro, the first woman vice-presidential candidate on a big party ticket, is suffering from incurable blood cancer.

In an interview published in the New York Times, Ferraro, who is 65, said she was diagnosed with multiple myeloma during a routine check-up in December 1998. The cancer erodes the bones and leads to death within five years in about half of those diagnosed.

The former congresswoman from New York made history in 1984 when Walter Mondale chose her as his presidential running mate on the Democratic Party's ticket.

"I look great, and I feel great, and it's what early diagnosis and research can do," Ferraro said.