Lisa Niemi, the widow of Patrick Swayze, spoke about dealing with the loss of her husband at California First Lady Maria Shriver's Women's Conference on Tuesday.

Niemi joined Elizabeth Edwards and Susan Saint James on a panel moderated by Shriver called "Grief, Healing & Resilience." Elizabeth Edwards lost her son, Wade when he was 16, while Saint James' son Teddy passed away at age 14. Shriver's mother, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, and her uncle, Ted Kennedy, both passed away in recent months.

Niemi said about the grieving process, "I never knew what to say to people who lost somebody and, boy, I have a good idea about it now." She explained that having girlfriends who she can call at any time of the day or night has helped her deal with losing her husband of 34 years: "Sometimes just the act of reaching out helps to ground and connect you back to life and love and other people."

Niemi said of Swayze, "Cancer may have taken him but it never beat him." She said that part of the grieving process has been dealing with regrets and beating herself up over the little things. She told the panel, "I've spent two thirds of my life with him. ... My regret is that I didn't tell him that I loved him enough over that entire 34 years. ... I am so grateful for what I had and my connection to him, and part of me believes that I will see him again and I'm just going to have to go on until then."

She said that appearing on the conference has a way for her to try to help others in her position: "For me to learn to reach out and connect with other people was a huge thing, and it enriches the whole tapestry of life when you connect with other people."

Edwards, who has been diagnosed with terminal cancer, says that she doesn't fear death, in part, because, "For me it's not as scary in part because I have to believe that there's a chance of reunion of some sort with Wade so death offers me that, which life doesn't offer me."