Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Breaking: Senator Kennedy has Malignant Brain Tumor


Jack Nicholson and Edward Kennedy. June 6, 2005. photo Robert Scott Button/fotogblog.

Weekend Seizure Leads To Cancer Discovery

The seizure Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA) had over the weekend was caused by a malignant brain tumor, doctors at Massachusetts General Hospital said.

Associated Press

"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.

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.

There's more...
*sighs*

Please take a moment to pray, to direct kind thoughts towards the Kennedy family.

And remember to breath.

At the end of a good life, life ends. Besides... it isn't over yet. The Senator still has time, time to be with his family, time to say goodbye, time to wrap up his affairs.

Breathe.