Senator Edward M. Kennedy has a malignant tumor in his brain, his doctors said Tuesday.


Brendan Smialowski for The New York Times


Senator Edward M. Kennedy with Senator Barack Obama at a campaign rally at American University in Washington on Jan. 28. More Photos >
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"May some of the hope and strength he has given to others come back to him at this difficult time."
A.L., Boston
Read Full Comment »Post a Comment »Tests performed over the weekend at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston indicated that Mr. Kennedy, 76, has a type of cancer known as a malignant glioma in the left parietal lobe, the upper left portion of his brain. Mr. Kennedy, Democrat of Massachusetts, suffered a seizure on Saturday in Cape Cod and was airlifted to the hospital for treatment.

The doctors said on Tuesday that the senator was “in overall good condition,” had been walking around the hospital, and had suffered no more seizures since Saturday.

“The usual course of treatment includes combinations of various forms of radiation and chemotherapy,” Dr. Lee Schwamm, the vice chairman of neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital, and Dr. Larry Ronan, a primary care physician at the hospital, said in a statement issued Tuesday afternoon.

The National Cancer Institute says that malignant glioma is the most common form of brain cancer, accounting for about 9,000 cases diagnosed each year in the United States. The prognosis depends on the severity of the tumor, although the institute’s Web site says it is generally poor.

Mr. Kennedy was first elected to the Senate in 1962, when his older brother John F. Kennedy was president, and is serving his eighth term. He is been in the senate longer than any current senator except Robert C. Byrd, Democrat of West Virginia.

News of the diagnosis was greeted by “stunned silence” at a weekly lunch conference for Senate Democrats, said Senator Ben Nelson, of Nebraska. Mr. Nelson said that Senator John Kerry, of Massachusetts, who had spoken with Mr. Kennedy, reported that “Senator Kennedy is quite optimistic.” Senator John Warner, of Virginia, said a similar announcement had been made in the Republicans’ weekly meeting and that those in attendance interrupted their business to say a prayer for Senator Kennedy.

“Ted Kennedy has spent his life caring for those in need," said Senator Richard J. Durbin of Illinois, the second-ranking Democrat in the Senate. “Now it’s time for those who love Ted and his family to care for them and join in prayer to give them strength.”

Senator Kennedy fell ill at his family’s compound in Hyannis Port, Mass., on Saturday morning and was taken to Cape Cod Hospital. From there, he was flown by helicopter to Massachusetts General. The senator had undergone surgery at Massachusetts General in October to correct a constriction of his left carotid artery. He had already been taking medication to control blood pressure and cholesterol.

Senator Kennedy, who is known for championing his party’s positions on civil rights, health care and labor, endorsed Senator Barack Obama, of Illinois, for president in January. Since then, Mr. Kennedy has actively campaigned for Mr. Obama and has made appearances in crucial primary states.

In an interview with CNN on Tuesday afternoon, Mr. Obama called Mr. Kennedy “a great model of what a senator can and should be.”

“I expect he is going to fight as hard as he can,” he said.

President Bush, in a statement, called Mr. Kennedy “a man of tremendous courage, remarkable strength, and powerful spirit.”

Dr. John Golfinos, an associate professor of neurosurgery at the New York University Cancer Institute, said malignant glioma could be difficult to beat.

“Typically, the outlook is not that great for this disease,” said Dr. Golfinos.

Dr. Golfinos said he could not speak about Senator Kennedy’s case specifically, but in general, a patient’s prognosis depends on a number of factors, including age and a general description known as performance status. He said there is no common screening test to discover the presence of such a tumor, and that for most people who develop one, no cause is ever identified.

Although a large number of promising treatments have been developed in recent years, Dr. Golfinos said the long-term survival rates have not improved greatly so far.

“It is still a difficult one, so the prognosis has not improved that much,” he said.

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i know the kennedy family is a divisive one - but this is truly sad news...
even my dad, a life-long republican, has a begrudging affection for old teddy....

God speed Ted. I wouldn't wish brain cancer on my worst enemy. Unless that enemy is of the radical Islamic variety. Then all bets are off.


Riffy

The Fat Bastard...

He's only got about 6-9 weeks to live.  And, btw, SDH is an asshole.

I pray for Uncle Teddy and wish him simply the BEST .


On the bright side ( if there IS any ?! ) Perhaps he is anxious to see his brothers once again ........ :



My Brother need not be idealized ......................................






LBJOEY !

robpop wrote on May 21^st, 2008 at 3:14pm:


Thanks. My grandmother's of a similar vein. She still lives at home but my aunt lives there with her now...because her legs are gone more or less. But she still gets around. Anyway I just got back from there and she doesn't seem too worried about it. No operation necessary, at least for now. She's going to go for some kind of treatment though. I don't trust some of these doctors though.

just from reading this thread.....it's devastating to see how cancer has touched so many of our lives -
my dad was recently diagnosed with prostate cancer - but he's lucky, it's treatable and the outlook is postive..and my mom is a six-year breast cancer survivor -
God Speed to all you guys - souix, pdog, ten......and the rest of us -
cancer CAN be beaten....so stay strong.

Pdog wrote on May 21^st, 2008 at 4:15pm:

teddy's plight, while sad, is not tragic. somehow, it just isn't the same when an old man gets cancer as when a young person does. one of my coworkers died a horrible death about four months ago. 56 years old with four kids at home. the little girl that lives two doors down from me is not even one and she has already had an eye removed because of it.

cancer sucks. but it sucks less when you're old.

texile wrote on May 21^st, 2008 at 4:14pm:



Thanks textile...I really appreciate the kind words.  Cancer is an equal opportunity horror. Anyone, simply anyone, can get one form or another, and at any age. Cancer is really nothing more than abnormal cells that grow and grow...but just the name is enough to send chills down your spine. Prayer, positive thinking, laughter, exercise, eating right...it all helps. I don't know if there'll ever be a cure, though. I hope so. SO many people need it....

Well I think that you're right Jizzy (there, I said it), or at least your wife is. The cancer that he has been diagnosed with is apparently a very aggressive form. I know that my mother was stricken with lung cancer, and within nine months she was gone. Cancer has touched every member of this board in one form or another. We all know someone who has had it, who has died from it, or has beaten it. But it is so pervassive.


Riffy

I think he does have a very short time left since they let him out of the hospital to go sailing. There's probably not much that can be done. Today's Daily News says that Teddy wants his current wife to take the seat after he's gone but I think Joan should get it for all her troubles.

On one level, he's just another OJ Simpson...

Quote:


oh, come on...teddy didn't murder mary jo. he just got too tipsy to help her swim. awful crime, but not as bad as moider.

I was just thinking that it was nice that this thread did not turn ugly.
The man is controversial. There is no doubt.
But if you have nothing good to say, let's not say anything at all.

Agreed, glencar. The fact that is has been released and is sailing tells me the prognosis is very grim.

LJ.

LadyJane wrote on May 22^nd, 2008 at 11:41am:

With all due respect, I don't see this as turning ugly, LJ. Teddy had his (to many) good points & to many he had his bad points. He's 76. These things will be discussed. Hey, at least he's not Arlen Specter who is in a similar situation & hasn't led the news all week.

" With all due respect, I don't see this as turning ugly, LJ. Teddy had his (to many) good points & to many he had his bad points. He's 76. These things will be discussed. Hey, at least he's not Arlen Specter who is in a similar situation & hasn't led the news all week "

Factory Girl wrote on May 22^nd, 2008 at 12:01pm:


FG...

if you're referring to TracyGene, that was 2004. my, how time flies!

how time flies!

Good luck Ted.   I don't agree with a lot you stand for, but I hate to see anybody go out with cancer.  I hated Reagan, but nobody desevered what he had. Nobdoy.  Some are making fun of Ted now. truly classless assholes. 

Katie Couric did her nightly Teddy update. He's still sick. Meanwhile, another 1500 people died of cancer today, maybe someone you loved.

Starbuck wrote on May 22^nd, 2008 at 11:31am:




From what I remember, she was NOT dead when he left the car and walked to wherever he walked...and did NOT even tell anyone what happened! She died because he DIDN'T say anything to anyone who could have helped. THAT was no accident.

lotsajizz wrote on May 23^rd, 2008 at 4:27am:



Um, I think not. Go back and read about the incident. She lived for awhile after the crash. Kennedy did try to dive down to get her out but couldn't. Then he walked back to the cottage where the party had been, passing at least 4 houses where he could have called for help. He didn't. He got some friends and they wernt back to try to get her out but couldn't. So, the friends went back to the party cottage {not telling anyone what happened at Kennedy's request} and Ted went back to his hotel. He told no one. He went to sleep, woke up, complaining of a loud party in the next door room, woke up in the morning, didn't tell anyone. By 8:00 am, his friends joined him at the hotel and they had a "heated conversation". They went back to the dock, Kennedy called friends for advice. He STILL didn't report the incident to authorities.

That morning, 2 fishermen had seen the car in the water and called authorities. A diver went down and found her body. Her body was pressed up in the car at a point where an air bubble had formed. He said, had he received a call the night before, and had gone down to look for her in the same time frame that he did that morning, she would very likely have been found alive. Kennedy didn't go to the police station until they found that the car was registered in his name.

So, since she could very well had lived had he called for help right away....THAT'S why I said what I said earlier. She did not die on impact. She died a long, horrible death.

THe judge COULD have called for Kennedy's arrest. And they COULD have prosecuted him for manslaughter. But they CHOSE not to........because he was a Kennendy, of course.

But he almost DID become POTUS! That's the shocking thing. I'm glad he failed & I wish him Godspeed for what's left of his time.

Sioux wrote on May 23^rd, 2008 at 6:15am:


True, she didn't die on impact and survived for an indefinite length of time so there was a good chance she could've been saved if proper help had been called for right away.  In this case CYA = Negligent homicide.