Ted Kennedy has brain tumor

[tugmoose]

Vibes to the senior senator from Mass.

 

 

Doctors say Sen. Edward Kennedy has a brain tumor

By GLEN JOHNSON, Associated Press Writer

4 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.

 

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.

[Good Old Neon]

This is terrible, though not entirely unexpected news.

 

My uncle, a life-long Hyannisport resident, is an acquaintance of Ted

[isadorah]

this makes me very very sad.

[owl]

VIBES

 

:( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :(

[Sweet Papa Crimbo]

Not a prospect for a comfortable passing...

 

No matter what one's political leanings, this is sad news. Ted Kennedy was the patriarch of an American Political Dynasty. A political Giant. The flawed heir to the Kennedy legacy.

 

That family just can't avoid tragedy.

[caliber66]

Is it tragic that a 76 year old man has been diagnosed with a possibly terminal illness? Sad, certainly, and no doubt devastating to his family, but it doesn't strike me as particularly tragic. He's lived a long life and had the opportunity to do more things than most. Lots of people don't make through their fifties.

[Good Old Neon]

Is it tragic that a 76 year old man has been diagnosed with a possibly terminal illness? Sad, certainly, and no doubt devastating to his family, but it doesn't strike me as particularly tragic. He's lived a long life and had the opportunity to do more things than most. Lots of people don't make through their fifties.

 

I understand where you

[uncool2pillow]

That family just can't avoid tragedy.

 

 

I understand where you

[the carlos]

"who is better at tragedy?"

[Good Old Neon]

The Kopechne family might know a little more about tragedy.

 

 

Or Michael Dutton Douglas's family - who was unfortunate enough to be crossing path's with the now first lady, Laura (Welch) Bush.

 

In 1963 Laura Welch was involved in a car accident when she ran a stop sign and crashed into another car, killing a friend and classmate, Michael Dutton Douglas, who was driving the other car. According to the two-page accident report released by the city of Midland, neither driver was drinking, and no charges were filed. - wikipedia

[caliber66]

I understand where you’re coming from, but is there some sort of age limit on tragedy – at what age is a brain tumor diagnosis no longer tragic?

I didn't say it wasn't tragic. I said it didn't strike me as particularly tragic. Ted Kennedy has had 45 years in politics to make his mark, and he has created quite a legacy for himself. Had he died before the age of 50 like his brothers, before he was able to fulfill his potential (whatever you feelings on whether he did or not), I would consider that tragic. Old people get sick; to me it's much less tragic than it is just sad.

[Good Old Neon]

I didn't say it wasn't tragic. I said it didn't strike me as particularly tragic.

 

 

Tomato

 

 

 

Tomato

[caliber66]

I'm not going to argue with you in this thread about whether this is a semantic distinction or not. Vibes to the Kennedy family.

[Sir Stewart]

Vibes, and if he needs to retire - at least Mass. most likely won't have a collective brain fart and elect a Republican.

[Oil Can Boyd]

if he needs to retire - at least Mass. most likely won't have a collective brain fart and elect a Republican.

Well we had four Republican governors in a row (until recently) ...

[Sir Stewart]

Well we had four Republican governors in a row (until recently) ...

 

Yeah, I chalk that up to Mass. voters grasping the idea of check & balances (I know that doesn't make sense, but it's fun to say).

[Good Old Neon]

True

[dannygutters]

If this was a play it wouldn't be a greek tragedy, but the event could be described as tragic, more accurately tho, just sad and unfortunate.

[bleedorange]

Or Michael Dutton Douglas's family - who was unfortunate enough to be crossing path's with the now first lady, Laura (Welch) Bush.

 

In 1963 Laura Welch was involved in a car accident when she ran a stop sign and crashed into another car, killing a friend and classmate, Michael Dutton Douglas, who was driving the other car. According to the two-page accident report released by the city of Midland, neither driver was drinking, and no charges were filed. - wikipedia

 

How is this relevant to Ted Kennedy again?

[Good Old Neon]

How is this relevant to Ted Kennedy again?

 

Well, and I certainly could be wrong, but the post I was responding to seemed to be seeking to cast aspersions on Kennedy for something that happened quite a long time ago - which of course does not diminish the tragedy, but still.

 

A piece of history the right is always quick to bring up in reference to Kennedy, while ignoring that the first lady herself was involved in what could be considered vehicular manslaughter.

 

With that said, to answer your question, it is not particularly relevant to the discussion at hand, but then, neither is the post to which I was responding - in context to a brain tumor diagnosis.

[bleedorange]

Well, and I certainly could be wrong, but the post I was responding to seemed to be seeking to cast aspersions on Kennedy for something that happened quite a long time ago - which of course does not diminish the tragedy, but still.

 

A piece of history the right is always quick to bring up in reference to Kennedy, while ignoring that the first lady herself was involved in what could be considered vehicular manslaughter.

 

With that said, to answer your question, it is not particularly relevant to the discussion at hand, but then, neither is the post to which I was responding - in context to a brain tumor diagnosis.

 

I don't think anyone was politicizing anything until you stepped in, though. Even the AFP story reporting the diagnosis made mention of the Chappaquiddick incident. And amidst all this talk of tragedy surrounding Ted Kennedy and the relative "tragic-ness" of it, it seems understandable that Mary Jo Kopechne would eventually get mentioned.

[bjorn_skurj]

1. Warm wishes to Ted Kennedy, who is all right with me.

2. Until THDW mentioned it, I had never heard that Laura Bush ran a stop sign and killed some dude. Hmm.

[uncool2pillow]

I don't think anyone was politicizing anything until you stepped in, though. Even the AFP story reporting the diagnosis made mention of the Chappaquiddick incident. And amidst all this talk of tragedy surrounding Ted Kennedy and the relative "tragic-ness" of it, it seems understandable that Mary Jo Kopechne would eventually get mentioned.

I feel a bit stupid about posting the obvious now. I shouldn't have tainted the sad feelings many feel for Kennedy. I'd delete the original post, but there's too much follow up to it now. Cancer sucks!

[Good Old Neon]

I don't think anyone was politicizing anything until you stepped in, though. Even the AFP story reporting the diagnosis made mention of the Chappaquiddick incident. And amidst all this talk of tragedy surrounding Ted Kennedy and the relative "tragic-ness" of it, it seems understandable that Mary Jo Kopechne would eventually get mentioned.

 

I

[bjorn_skurj]

I