Liz Claiborne, fashion designer for working women climbing corporate ladders, died Tuesday at the New York Presbyterian Hospital after battling cancer for many years. She was 78.

Said Bill McComb, CEO of Claiborne's company since November: "In losing Liz Claiborne, we have not only lost the founder of our company, but an inspirational woman who revolutionized the fashion industry 30 years ago. Her commitment to style and design is ever present in our thinking and the way we work. We will remember Liz for her vision, her entrepreneurial spirit and her enduring compassion and generosity."

Claiborne, with husband Art Ostenberg and partners Leonard Boxer and Jerome Chazen, launched her label in 1976 after working for years as an unknown dress designer. Her brand featured ensemble sportswear with price tags below that of other designers and revolutionized the department store industry. Once compartmentalized, with pants in one department and skirts in another, Claiborne's coordinated clothing inspired the merging of once-separate departments.

"Every once in a great while, there comes a person with such a generous soul and amazing spirit that they seem to touch the life of everyone they meet. Liz Karnes was just such a person. And she happened to have ovarian cancer."

Liz Karnes, who spent 12 years battling ovarian cancer, was much loved and admired for the love and generosity she extended to many others. When Liz lost her life to ovarian cancer in 1993, the Karnes family wanted to continue her legacy of compassionate giving and established Liz's Legacy, as an outreach and cancer awareness charitable program.

According to her family, "Her strength, courage and positive attitude had made Liz a role model for many cancer patients and their families, and everyone close to her agreed the most fitting way to honor her memory was to carry on the work she so deeply believed in." Even though Liz was facing her own cancer struggles, she took time to stop in and visit with newly-diagnosed cancer patients to offer them hope by showing them they could live with cancer.

According to Liz's husband, former Nebraska Senator Dave Karnes, making people aware of cancer risks, educating them on the importance of healthy lifestyles and preventive measures, and ensuring caring treatment are top priorities for Liz's Legacy. At the beautifully designed Liz's Legacy website, you can find comprehensive information and resources on Coping with Cancer, Cancer Information and Support Services.

"The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated." -- Mark Twain

According to several international news services and tabloid newspapers with an online presence, Elizabeth Taylor, legendary movie star and cancer survivor, is suffering heart failure and near death. Reported to be bedridden at her home in Bel Air, California, she is said to have cancelled her annual Easter party to plan her funeral. According to an unnamed friend, "Liz is inching closer to death every day and she knows it. It is not a pretty picture. She's not leaving a lot of money to her children. She wants the bulk of her fortune to go to AIDS research." I guess dying isn't enough of a news story, a publisher decided to add this scurrilous gossipy little comment from an anonymous friend on how her estate will be settled. Other than her attorneys and estate planners, I doubt few know the status of her will.

Her publicist, Dick Guttman, states that Taylor is not near death, and is instead, quite busy with her successful perfume and jewelry lines and the work she does for AIDS. "The endless health stories surrounding Taylor's supposed impending death," Guttman says, "have just become exasperating." Mark Twain predicted this one right. I cannot find any credible reports indicating that Guttman is playing smoke and mirrors with the public. All the reports of Taylor's impending death do seem to be coming from very specific, and perhaps slightly questionable, sources for news information. My vote for accuracy goes to Guttman. We send her our best wishes for continued good health.