Kennedy...

Paulette531

Kennedy...

Paulette531

Doctors say Sen. Edward Kennedy has a brain tumor

By GLEN JOHNSON, Associated Press Writer 23 minutes ago

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.

Doctors for the Massachusetts Democrat say tests conducted after Kennedy suffered a seizure this weekend show a tumor in his left parietal lobe. Preliminary results from a biopsy of the brain identified the cause of the seizure as a malignant glioma.

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

"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."

The 76-year-old senator 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 a joint statement issued by Dr. Lee Schwamm, vice chairman of the Department of Neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital and Dr. Larry Ronan, Kennedy's primary care physician.

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

"He remains in good spirits and full of energy," they said.

Kennedy's wife and children have been with him each day but have made no public statements.

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 a starting 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.

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.

Kennedy eldest brother, Joseph, was killed in a World War II airplane crash. President John 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 the Illinois senator in February, and most recently another in April.

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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ADK

Regardless of your political leaning, this is sad news.

ADK

Regardless of your political leaning, this is sad news.

ADK

Regardless of your political leaning, this is sad news.

wishiwere

It's sad when anyone is diagnosed with Cancer of any sort.  I guess I am very thankful that my cancer wasn't played out in the media all over the world, you know?  I realize politicians are public people and expect it, but still.  That family has had so much media attention, and already they've got him only living 1-5 years only.  When we all know that today, things can change in that one year and make longevity more possible.  Let's hope for him too!

AnnNYC

Well said, wishiwere.  My thoughts and prayers are with him and his family.

Paulette531

ADK...so true, regardless of political leaning...I think as cancer survivors we are probably more sympathetic when we hear about someone finding out they have cancer more so than John Q average public.

I do wish him well and my prayers go out to the family as well. 

swimangel72

Thanks Paulette for posting this information - as soon as I heard on the news that Ted Kennedy had a "seizure" I immediately suspected a brain tumor, because that's exactly what happened to my dad (he was only 59 - died 9 months later from astrocytoma, a more aggressive brain cancer.) I feel terrible for Kennedy and his family and hope the surgeons don't render him speechless (like they did to my dad after brain surgery). For such an intelligent man, it's ironic that the cancer would attack the brain......as though, the more you use it, the more likely you will lose it. Not true, I know - but still, ironic (that's how we thought about my dad's cancer - he too was an exceptionally intelligent and verbal man.) I'll be praying too for Kennedy and his family during this difficult time!

saluki

I am so sad.  This has hit so hard.  My next door neighbor is going through the same thing.  This is a kick in the stomach. 

I wish him the best.  My thoughts and prayers are with him and his family.

SLH

I just sent him a message on his website.  There's a space designed to send him best wishes:

http://kennedy.senate.gov/

nosurrender

This sounds like the bad kind according to the radio.

I feel sorry for him.

I hope there is a treatment he can take and it isn't too hard on him, he is 76 and that is a tough age to undergo grueling chemo. 

Anonymous

http://www.webmd.com/cancer/brain-cancer/news/20080520/sen-kennedy-has-malignant-brain-tumor

Sen. Ted Kennedy Has Brain Cancer

Doctors Diagnose Kennedy With Malignant Brain Tumor By Miranda Hitti
WebMD Medical News Reviewed by Michael W. Smith, MD

May 20, 2008 -- Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, 76, has been diagnosed with a malignant glioma, a type of brain cancer.

A glioma is a brain tumor that begins in glial cells, which are cells that surround and support nerve cells.

Kennedy remains at Massachusetts General Hospital, where he has been since he suffered a seizure on Saturday.

His doctors -- who include Lee Schwamm, MD, vice chairman of the neurology department at Massachusetts General Hospital, and Larry Ronan, MD, a primary care physician at Massachusetts General Hospital -- today released the following statement about Kennedy's condition:

"Over the course of the last several days, we've done a series of tests on Senator Kennedy to determine the cause of his seizure. He has had no further seizures, remains in good overall condition, and is up and walking around the hospital. Some of the tests we had performed were inconclusive, particularly in light of the fact that the senator had severe narrowing of the left carotid artery [which supplies blood from the heart to the brain] and underwent surgery just 6 months ago. However, preliminary results from a biopsy of the brain identified the cause of the seizure as a malignant glioma in the left parietal lobe. The usual course of treatment includes combinations of various forms of radiation and chemotherapy. Decisions regarding the best course of treatment for Senator Kennedy will be determined after further testing and analysis. Senator Kennedy will remain at Massachusetts General Hospital for the next couple of days, according to routine protocol. He remains in good spirits and full of energy."

WebMD spoke about Kennedy's diagnosis with Deborah Heros, MD, associate professor of clinical neurology and neuro-oncology at the University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine. Heros is not involved in Kennedy's treatment or diagnosis.

What do you make of the doctors' statement?

I think that he had a biopsy and it showed that he had what's called a malignant glioma, and seizures can be a presenting symptom for a brain tumor. As they had mentioned, usually we use radiation therapy and chemotherapy for treatment of this tumor after surgery. It appears as though Massachusetts General Hospital will be discussing that further and that we would expect him to begin treatment.

The newer treatments available include oral chemotherapy. Oftentimes, the oral chemotherapy is combined with the radiation treatments over six weeks and people tolerate it well. Hopefully, he'll be released from the hospital soon and be able to begin his treatment as an outpatient.

You mentioned surgery. What kind of surgery would that be?

Typically surgery can be a biopsy alone to identify and document the specific type of tumor and prove that it is a tumor. A biopsy alone is done if the tumor is located either deep in the brain or in an area where removing tissue could cause neurological impairment [brain damage]. Apparently, this may have been on the left side of his brain, where speech function is located. So that may have been the reason why they chose to do a biopsy rather than what we call a craniotomy, with tumor removal. If the tumor is in an area that can be operated on, sometimes a larger surgical procedure is done to remove as much tumor as possible. The limiting factor is the location in the brain.

continued...

What is the left parietal lobe involved in?

The left parietal lobe does control speech and various parts of language so that the decision needs to be made by the neurosurgeon of what type of surgical procedure is the safest.

Are radiation and chemotherapy standard?

Very standard. Even if it is located in an area that can be operated on more extensively, we know we cannot remove all of the tumor because it is what we call an infiltrating tumor. We talk about rootlets or tentacles of tumor that grow into the brain, almost like fingers. ... We don't [expect] to be able to remove all of it surgically, so we really rely on ... radiation and chemotherapy.

What is the prognosis for this sort of condition?

Well, it is a serious tumor. Patients tolerate the radiation and chemotherapy well, and we have many patients that have responded well to this combination of treatment. I think that's how we usually describe the prognosis -- it's a wait-and-see type of tumor where we have to see how well he responds to additional treatment.

How rare is this type of tumor?

Every year in the United States, there are about 18,000 new primary brain tumors, and over half of those tumors are some type of malignant glioma.

Do you think he may have had this for a while? How quickly do these develop?

That's a question that most people usually ask and we don't know. I think for some patients, it's very active or aggressive from the very beginning, and so they can grow very quickly, probably over weeks to months, and that's probably his type. Others start as a less active tumor and then over time become more active, and those can be present for a longer period of time. It sounds like his symptoms developed rather recently, and that suggests to us that it probably has not been there very long.

The doctors mentioned other tests and analyses. What types of additional tests would the doctors be doing?

I suspect they may be doing some more specialized pathologic studies on the [biopsy].

Is that a tumor grade or staging?

They may try to set tumor grade. This is not a tumor that tends to metastasize [spread] outside of the nervous system, so we don't typically stage it like we do other tumors that can spread to lymph nodes or to other organs in the body. But we do oftentimes a grading of the tumor cells to see how active or aggressive the tumors would be. That may be what they're working on with special staining and special tests from the neuropathologists. There are also some newer, what I would say investigational, studies looking at the pathology to try to determine what types of treatment might be appropriate for him, more specific types of treatment.

continued...

After the treatment, what sort of recovery is likely or possible? Would he be able to step back into his job?

That would depend totally on his energy, how he's feeling overall from the treatment, and if he has any neurologic deficits from the tumor itself; how intact his speech is and his language function.

Anything else you would want to add?

The hope that he'll be out of the hospital soon and be able to feel well  during the treatment and remain active and have good time with his family and continue to be active in his political career.

View Article Sources

SOURCES:

Statement from Lee Schwamm, MD, vice chairman, department of neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Larry Ronan, MD, primary care physician, Massachusetts General Hospital.

National Cancer Institute: "Glioma."

Deborah Heros, MD, associate professor of clinical neurology and neuro-oncology, University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine.

© 2008 WebMD, LLC. All rights reserved.

Anonymous

Very sad to hear this today.

Nicki

gsg

This has been devastating news today.  He is one of the nicest people in the Capitol.  I've long said that when people ask.  I'm so sorry he has been dealt this diagnosis.  Heart broken.

carolsd

I am not a "follower" of Ted Kennedy necessarily, but I have compassion for his family and all they have been through. And I applaud their dedication to public service and advocacy for the common man.

So sorry to hear of this diagnosis. I hope he rallies and defies the odds.

Anonymous

I've always been sort of a Kennedy freak (hell, I'm Irish-Catholic, what can I say?) and feel so deeply for this family. For a privileged clan, they have been struck by far too many tragedies. And what colorful personalities...all of them! Teddy has certainly been no exception to this with his youthful shenanigans, his wild drinking reputation and his soulful, blustery, impassioned politics! Of course, he's also had his darker side, as evident in the Mary Jo Kapeckne disaster. It seemed that he was just coming into his own as a senior politician who exhibits dignity and grace along with his energetic political views. It is jusy so sad to see him cut down now. I hope that his treatments are as effective as possible and allow him to make his remaining time of ultimate value to him and his family.

~Marin

Anonymous

This was on AOL.  Here's some pictures of Sen. Kennedy in the hospital.

http://news.aol.com/story/_a/doctors-say-kennedy-has-a-brain-tumor/20080520105609990001

candie1971

I,too, was very sad to hear this news. I am a Kennedy family fan. They do so much good for people and most of them do not take a pay check as they have plenty of money. I will keep Ted and his family in my prayers. Wow, this family sure has had their share of tragedies...too many!!!

ADK

We should all realize that this is not the first time there has been cancer in Ted's immediate family - his son, Teddy jr. had to have his leg amputated in 1973 due to cancer (he was only 12 years old).  I pray that the cancer isn't as aggressive as they seem to believe right now, but I am fast losing hope.

SLH

I encourage you all to send him and his family get well messages:

http://kennedy.senate.gov/