Senator Edward "Ted" Kennedy Diagnosed with Malignant Brain Tumor

It has just been publicly announced on May 20, 2008, that Senator Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts has been diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor after being hospitalized this past Saturday for a seizure. Senator Kennedy is the second-longest serving member of the US Senate, as he has been serving since 1962.

Testing has revealed that the 76 year-old senator has a malignant glioma, or tumor composed of glial cells, in the left parietal lobe of his brain.

Kennedy was admitted to the hospital this past Saturday when he experienced a seizure at his home. He was airlifted to Massachusetts General Hospital, where it was announced that the seizure was not a stroke or stroke-related. The brain tumor was disclosed today by Kennedy's personal physician, Dr. Larry Ronan, and Dr. Lee Schwann of Massachusetts General, in the following statement:

"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."

A Dr. Siller of New York University, appeared on Fox News and stated that this sort of tumor is difficult to remove, as it can be very aggressive and infiltrate other portions of the brain that affect all sorts of other functioning, so chemotherapy and radiation would be more likely treatments for the Senator that surgical removal.

Symptoms of a glioma can include nausea, vomiting, seizure and headaches. Further nerve disorders can develop as the tumor grows.

Although no plans for resignation have been announced as of yet, Massachusetts law requires that a new election take place within 145-160 days after a senatorial seat is vacated due to resignation or death.

Sources:
cnn.com
foxnews.com
msnbc.com
webmd.com