Keeping Senator Kennedy In Our Thoughts Today

As the news is beginning to report, Senator Ted Kennedy is undergoing brain surgery today. The operation is the first step to reduce the tumor before he undergoes chemotherapy and radiation. He is definitely in good hands this morning with one of the nation's top neurosurgeons, so all we can do is say a prayer (or send good thoughts if you choose) as he begins to fight this as he has fought every other challenge in his life.

From The Huffington Post:

Kennedy said that over the past few days he and his wife, Vicki, "along with my outstanding team of doctors at Massachusetts General Hospital, have consulted with experts from around the country and have decided that the best course of action for my brain tumor is targeted surgery followed by chemotherapy and radiation."

Kennedy said he selected a team of neuro-oncologists from Boston's Massachusetts General Hospital and Duke University Medical Center.

Friedman is "one of the thought leaders" and a giant in the field of neuro-oncology, said Dr. Otis Brawley, chief medical officer of the American Cancer Society, speaking from Chicago, where more than 30,000 cancer specialists are attending an American Society of Clinical Oncology conference.

Friedman is chief of the division of neurosurgery in the surgical department at Duke and also co-director of the neuro-oncology department there. His clinical interests are brain tumors, skull-based tumors, peripheral nerve surgery, pituitary tumors and cerebrovascular disaster, according to his resume on the medical center's Web site.

After his treatment, Kennedy said, "I look forward to returning to the United States Senate and to doing everything I can to help elect Barack Obama as our next president." Kennedy has endorsed Obama, the front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination.

I'm so happy to see his fighting spirit still remains, and further proof that absolutely nothing can keep this great man down. If you haven't done so already, you can send him a letter at his Senate website.

Wishing Ted Kennedy The Best

The Liberal Lion, the longest serving Senator second to Robert Byrd, the great Ted Kennedy was given the terrible news that he has a malignant brain tumor, the likely cause of his seizure this past weekend. His family is all around him at the hospital in Boston and he is good spirits, but malignant tumors like this are not a good sign.

From the AP:

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.[...]

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.

We should know in the next few days what type of tumor the Senator has and of course like all cancers, nothing is set in stone when it comes to life expectancy and treatment procedures. What is certain is that Sen. Kennedy will be getting the best possible care and will continue to be a prominent political figure as he has been for nearly half a century.

Our hearts, thoughts and prayers are with the Kennedy family.