Jerry D

Source: Sen. Edward Kennedy has malignant brain tumor - Yahoo! News

BOSTON - A cancerous brain tumor caused the seizure Sen. Edward M. Kennedy suffered over the weekend, doctors said Tuesday in a grim diagnosis for one of American politics' most enduring figures. "He remains in good spirits and full of energy," the doctors for the 76-year-old Massachusetts Democrat said in a statement.

They said tests conducted after the seizure showed a tumor in Kennedy's left parietal lobe. Preliminary results from a biopsy of the brain identified the cause of the seizure as a malignant glioma, they said.

His treatment will be decided after more tests but the usual course includes combinations of radiation and chemotherapy.

Kennedy has been hospitalized in Boston since Saturday, when he was airlifted from Cape Cod after a seizure at his home.

"He has had no further seizures, remains in good overall condition, and is up and walking around the hospital," said the statement by Dr. Lee Schwamm, vice chairman of the Department of Neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital and Dr. Larry Ronan, Kennedy's primary care physician.

They said Kennedy will remain in the hospital "for the next couple of days according to routine protocol."

Kennedy's wife and children have been with him each day since he was hospitalized. Senator Kennedy's son, Rep. Patrick Kennedy, D-R.I., plans to stay at the hospital for the time being.

"Obviously it's tough news for any son to hear," said spokeswoman Robin Costello. "He's comforted by the fact that his dad is such a fighter, and if anyone can get through something as challenging as this, it would be his father. So he's optimistic, he's hopeful, but obviously he's concerned."

President Bush was notified by his staff of Kennedy's diagnosis at 1:20 p.m.

"He said he was deeply saddened and would keep Senator Kennedy in his prayers," spokeswoman Dana Perino said.

Malignant gliomas are a type of brain cancer diagnosed in about 9,000 Americans a year — and the most common type among adults. It's an initial diagnosis: How well patients fare depends on what specific tumor type is determined by further testing.

Average survival can range from less than a year for very advanced and aggressive types — such as glioblastomas — or to about five years for different types that are slower growing.

News of the diagnosis hit hard for colleagues on both sides of the aisle.

"I'm really sad," former Sen. Bob Kerrey, D-Neb., said when told in a Senate hallway about Kennedy's condition. "He's the one politician who brings tears to my eyes when he speaks."

"I am so deeply saddened I have lost the words," Sen. John Warner, R-Va., said in a Senate hallway. Warner said he and Kennedy had been friends for 40 years. Both served on the Senate Armed Services Committee together.

Kennedy, the second-longest serving member of the Senate and a dominant figure in national Democratic Party politics, was elected in 1962, filling out the term won by his brother, John F. Kennedy.

His eldest brother, Joseph, was killed in a World War II airplane crash. President Kennedy was assassinated in 1963 and his brother Robert was assassinated in 1968.

Kennedy is active for his age, maintaining an aggressive schedule on Capitol Hill and across Massachusetts. He has made several campaign appearances for Sen. Barack Obama in February, and most recently last month.

Kennedy, the senior senator from Massachusetts and the Senate's second-longest serving member, was re-elected in 2006 and is not up for election again until 2012.

Were he to resign or die in office, state law requires a special election for the seat no sooner than 145 days and no later than 160 days after the vacancy occurs.

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As someone who's always admired the Kennedy family, I'm really upset about this. I think that Ted Kennedy has been a champion for the common man, and I admire what he's done for the people of this country in his long career. I have very mixed feelings about him due to Chappaquiddick, but no matter what, he's left a legacy in this country, and an era will truly end when he resigns or dies.

sunnykerr

I read this earlier today, when I doing a spot check on the board while at work (and hence not even logging on because they kinda frown on that over there)...

And, for the first time since I started working there, my colleagues saw me become literally speechless. I am beyond gobsmacked. In a purely metaphorical sense, but with absolute emotional truth, this brought me to my knees.

And it isn't that he's a Kennedy, although I'm sure that informs the rest of it. But it's because, whatever his many flaws may be, he really does feel like one of the last truly, bone-deep good and honest civil servants in government. Whether on your side of the border or on ours.

I can't even think about it too much, it brings tears to my eyes. As ridiculous as it might sound, part or me seems to have believed that the man would outlive me. Part of me feels that would have been as it should be.

I have no words. Everything I've typed so far seems trite and stupid.

I have no words.

vc318

Oh my gosh, this is such sad news. I'm also at a loss for words. I hate to hear when anyone is sick especially in this case for Senator Kennedy. My thoughts and prayers go out to him and his family.

jalapeno_wildchild

i heard about this on the news.very sad.

Nad

I was shocked when I heard this on the news this morning And while I'm not from the US, I have followed US politics for quite some time now, and he's a legacy to me as well.

migamoo

I read this last night, and needless to say I didn't have much to say. Don't get me wrong, yes it's sad, but I'm just more speechless than anything.

sunnykerr

It's been a day now and it still doesn't feel real.

Uh Blah

Jerry D

Thanks for posting that Lou. I hope that everything works out for him.

sunnykerr

For a man of his age, any good news at this point is EXCELLENT news. And, of course, needs to be taken with a large amount of salt.

migamoo

He still has a long road ahead of him, but I wish him and his family nothing but the best.

sm_love_dc

This news came as a shock to me. I wrote a paper in Unvirsity about his policies. He has had a lot of set backs in his life and has always faught through them. If things do not go his way (knock on wood) you cannot say that he made as many contibutions as his brothers, if not more. He was a good politican that made bad choices in his personal life. He made more of a contribution than his brothers and should be respected for the work that he has done.

All the best to his family.

Jerry D

From a rather inauspicious start as a young man elected to the Senate riding on his brother’s coattails, Edward Kennedy has emerged as one of the greatest United States Senators in the history of this country, and his contributions have been many and long lasting. Chappaquiddick forever took him out of any consideration for becoming president, and he was badly beaten by Jimmy Carter for the Democratic Presidential Nomination in 1980 when he did run for president, but I’ll always admire him for what he’s done for this country.

I do agree that he made more of a contribution than his brothers, but that’s only because he outlived them, and he was a better Senator than either one of them because they basically used any office they held as stepping stones to the presidency, and Jack was only a Senator for 8 years when he was elected president, and Bobby was only a Senator for 3 and a half years when he got assassinated, while Ted has been a Senator for over 46 years, so their records really can’t be compared. Jack Kennedy will always be remembered for his eloquence and charisma, and Bobby Kennedy will always be remembered for his eloquence and compassion, but mostly, they’ll be remembered for what we all felt they might have accomplished if they had lived, but Ted Kennedy will be remembered for what he did accomplish.

sunnykerr

Bravo. Well said, the both of you.

The whole Kennedy family has given us three generation of people actively pursuing social justice. And this man has been, and continues to be, their leader, their patriarch and, I'm sure, in many ways their compass.

The world is a better place because of the Kennedys, not because of the glamour and the celebrity, but because of their tireless efforts for the betterment of mankind.

That they've all been flawed is without doubt. But, then, I think that only makes me like them more.

sm_love_dc

I do also believe in the comments. But also we have to look at the times that we live. It is not the 60's anymore. His brothers may not have been able to complish what they did if their personal lives were common knowledge; and not just something people turned a blind eye too. I think that Ted was always able to steer the attention back to politics and social policy. (His or his brothers) And it says something about his character, and his ambition. I do have to note that, yes I know he was not as successful during the Presidental election. But I doubt that the public would have elected John had they known that he was having an affair with a mistress of the mob. Ted began his career during this time of the 'boy's club', it was all hush hush, the 80's was a new time in politics. After watergate, his poor personal decisions were out there (chapaquidic? comes to mind.) Major personal issues affected the election in 1980. Ted was able to rebound after the failed election. His contributions were greater. When was the last time that John Kerry was in the public eye. Yes Ted's last name is Kennedy not Jones, he would naturaly get attention. But if he was not making strides to change policies and just sitting on his hands then it would be like the Roosevelts, non existant in politics today and just a chapter in a history book. The Kennedy's would be a they now on E! He kept the memory of his brothers alive, not easy to do that for 40 years. He kept Kennedy policies alive, he took on the causes of his brothers and made them his own. Not by taking ownership of them, but by standing behind the philosohy. That is a contribution to history as well as poltics.