My thoughts and prayers are with Senator Kennedy and his family.
Ted Kennedy Diagnosed With Malignant Brain Tumor
Massachusetts Senator Suffered Seizure, Rushed to Hospital This Weekend
By RICK KLEIN and ED O'KEEFE
May 20, 2008
Sen. Ted Kennedy has been diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor and will remain hospitalized for at least several additional days as he and his family determine treatment options.
The Massachusetts Democrat suffered a seizure Saturday and has since been hospitalized at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. He has been talking and joking with family and friends while undergoing a battery of tests that revealed the malignant tumor, a glioma in the left parietal lobe, according to the hospital.
"He has had no further seizures, remains in good overall condition and is up and walking around the hospital," Drs. Lee Schwamm and Larry Ronan said in a joint statement released by the hospital.
"The usual course of treatment includes combinations of various forms of radiation and chemotherapy," they said. "Decisions regarding the best course of treatment for Sen. Kennedy will be determined after further testing and analysis."
Kennedy, the second-longest serving senator in U.S. history, has represented Massachusetts in the Senate since 1962.
"Tough days ahead," a Kennedy family friend told ABC News, "but (Senator Kennedy is) in fighting mood."
Another Kennedy family member said they are bringing in another doctor for further evaluation adding, "This is not a good time."
Vicki Kennedy, the Senator's wife, informed Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., Tuesday afternoon of Kennedy's diagnosis. Reid, in turn, informed the Senate Democratic caucus at their weekly luncheon on Capitol Hill.
President George W. Bush was informed by staff about Kennedy's brain tumor. White House spokesperson Dana Perino said the president was "deeply saddened" and would keep him in his prayers.
Kennedy Suffers Seizure, Rushed to Hospital This Weekend
Kennedy, the last of three brothers who changed the American political scene in 1960s, was taken by ambulance to a Cape Cod hospital Saturday morning and later flown to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston by helicopter.
"Preliminary tests have determined that he has not suffered a stroke and is not in any immediate danger," Kennedy's physician Dr. Larry Ronan said Saturday evening. "He's resting comfortably, and watching the Red Sox game with his family.
Kennedy's wife, Victoria, was with him at the hospital, Kennedy family spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter said.
Several other members of the senator's family visited him at the hospital, including his three children, Kara, Edward Jr. and Rep. Patrick Kennedy, Democrat of Rhode Island, niece Caroline Kennedy and nephew, former Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy, II.
He spent much of the afternoon watching sports on television: first the Boston Red Sox game, then the Boston Celtics' playoff game against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Kennedy went to Cape Cod Hospital Saturday "after feeling ill at his home" in Hyannisport, Cutter said.
"We got a 911 call at 8:19 a.m. (Saturday) morning for a request for an ambulance," Lt. Bill Rex, a spokesperson for Hyannisport Fire and Rescue, confirmed to ABC News, Saturday. "We transferred one male to Cape Cod Hospital in Hyannis."
Kennedy's doctors in Boston were contacted, and it was decided he should be taken to Massachusetts General Hospital for further testing.
Rex also confirmed that an ambulance was later used to transport Kennedy to an airlift from Barnstable Municipal Airport for an emergency flight to Boston.
'Liberal Lion' Still Roars
Even though he is the third-longest serving senator in the history of the body -- with 45 years and two months in office, behind only current Sen. Robert Byrd of West Virginia and Strom Thurmond of South Carolina -- Kennedy is one of the hardest-working members of Congress.
As the chair of the Health Education and Labor Committee, he was the Democrat who ran the Senate floor last week when senators were considering a bill to give collective bargaining rights to all police and firemen. He was also the chief Democrat who fought for a recently passed student loan improvements bill.
Kennedy chaired a widely covered hearing on May 12 about how to fight cancer. Among the people who testified during that hearing were Lance Armstrong, Elizabeth Edwards and Steve Case.
Kennedy was also set to play a pitvotal role for Democrats as they consider the supplemental war funding bill next week. Kennedy was one of the loudest critics of the war in Iraq from its outset.
Before his illness this weekend, Kennedy was apparently working; his office released a statement in his name, congratulating Benjamin Jealous on his election as head of the NAACP.
Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., who received an endorsement from Kennedy and his niece Caroline Kennedy before the Super Tuesday contests in February, told reporters he has "been in contact with the [Kennedy] family."
"They are in our thoughts and prayers," Obama said. "As I have said many times before, Ted Kennedy is a giant in American political history. He has done more for health care of others than just about anybody in history, and so, we are going to be rooting for him. And I insist on being optimistic about how it's going to turn out."
President George W. Bush called Kennedy Monday to wish him well in his recovery. Bush did not reach Kennedy, who was undergoing tests at the time of the call, but instead talked to the Senator's wife, Vicki Kennedy.
"Take care of my friend," Bush told Mrs. Kennedy, according to Stephanie Cutter, a Democratic strategist and Kennedy family spokesperson.
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, also released a statement on Kennedy, saying, "I was very sorry to hear that Sen. Kennedy has taken ill, and like millions of Americans, Cindy and I anxiously await word of his condition. Sen. Kennedy's role in the U.S. Senate cannot be overstated. He is a legendary lawmaker, and I have the highest respect for him."
Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., campaigning in Oregon, said, "Our thoughts and prayers are with Ted Kennedy and his family today. We wish him well, and a quick recovery."
Sen. John Kerry, Massachusetts' other senator, who was at the hospital with Kennedy and other members of his family, released a statement saying, "Ted Kennedy is beloved and respected on both sides of the aisle in the Senate, in which he's been a giant for close to half a century, a legend in Massachusetts, and a dear friend to me and [Kerry's wife] Teresa.
"He's also been a fighter who has overcome adversity again and again with courage, grit and determination," Kerry's statement said. "Teresa and I are praying for Teddy, Vicki and all of his family, and we know that everyone in Massachusetts and people throughout the nation pray for a full and speedy recovery for a man whose life's work has touched millions upon millions of lives."
The Associated Press and ABC News' Jen Duck,
Ted Kennedy Diagnosed With Malignant Brain Tumor
Massachusetts Senator Suffered Seizure, Rushed to Hospital This Weekend
By RICK KLEIN and ED O'KEEFE
May 20, 2008
Sen. Ted Kennedy has been diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor and will remain hospitalized for at least several additional days as he and his family determine treatment options.
The Massachusetts Democrat suffered a seizure Saturday and has since been hospitalized at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. He has been talking and joking with family and friends while undergoing a battery of tests that revealed the malignant tumor, a glioma in the left parietal lobe, according to the hospital.
"He has had no further seizures, remains in good overall condition and is up and walking around the hospital," Drs. Lee Schwamm and Larry Ronan said in a joint statement released by the hospital.
"The usual course of treatment includes combinations of various forms of radiation and chemotherapy," they said. "Decisions regarding the best course of treatment for Sen. Kennedy will be determined after further testing and analysis."
Kennedy, the second-longest serving senator in U.S. history, has represented Massachusetts in the Senate since 1962.
"Tough days ahead," a Kennedy family friend told ABC News, "but (Senator Kennedy is) in fighting mood."
Another Kennedy family member said they are bringing in another doctor for further evaluation adding, "This is not a good time."
Vicki Kennedy, the Senator's wife, informed Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., Tuesday afternoon of Kennedy's diagnosis. Reid, in turn, informed the Senate Democratic caucus at their weekly luncheon on Capitol Hill.
President George W. Bush was informed by staff about Kennedy's brain tumor. White House spokesperson Dana Perino said the president was "deeply saddened" and would keep him in his prayers.
Kennedy Suffers Seizure, Rushed to Hospital This Weekend
Kennedy, the last of three brothers who changed the American political scene in 1960s, was taken by ambulance to a Cape Cod hospital Saturday morning and later flown to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston by helicopter.
"Preliminary tests have determined that he has not suffered a stroke and is not in any immediate danger," Kennedy's physician Dr. Larry Ronan said Saturday evening. "He's resting comfortably, and watching the Red Sox game with his family.
Kennedy's wife, Victoria, was with him at the hospital, Kennedy family spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter said.
Several other members of the senator's family visited him at the hospital, including his three children, Kara, Edward Jr. and Rep. Patrick Kennedy, Democrat of Rhode Island, niece Caroline Kennedy and nephew, former Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy, II.
He spent much of the afternoon watching sports on television: first the Boston Red Sox game, then the Boston Celtics' playoff game against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Kennedy went to Cape Cod Hospital Saturday "after feeling ill at his home" in Hyannisport, Cutter said.
"We got a 911 call at 8:19 a.m. (Saturday) morning for a request for an ambulance," Lt. Bill Rex, a spokesperson for Hyannisport Fire and Rescue, confirmed to ABC News, Saturday. "We transferred one male to Cape Cod Hospital in Hyannis."
Kennedy's doctors in Boston were contacted, and it was decided he should be taken to Massachusetts General Hospital for further testing.
Rex also confirmed that an ambulance was later used to transport Kennedy to an airlift from Barnstable Municipal Airport for an emergency flight to Boston.
*SNIP*
'Liberal Lion' Still Roars
Even though he is the third-longest serving senator in the history of the body -- with 45 years and two months in office, behind only current Sen. Robert Byrd of West Virginia and Strom Thurmond of South Carolina -- Kennedy is one of the hardest-working members of Congress.
As the chair of the Health Education and Labor Committee, he was the Democrat who ran the Senate floor last week when senators were considering a bill to give collective bargaining rights to all police and firemen. He was also the chief Democrat who fought for a recently passed student loan improvements bill.
Kennedy chaired a widely covered hearing on May 12 about how to fight cancer. Among the people who testified during that hearing were Lance Armstrong, Elizabeth Edwards and Steve Case.
Kennedy was also set to play a pitvotal role for Democrats as they consider the supplemental war funding bill next week. Kennedy was one of the loudest critics of the war in Iraq from its outset.
Before his illness this weekend, Kennedy was apparently working; his office released a statement in his name, congratulating Benjamin Jealous on his election as head of the NAACP.
Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., who received an endorsement from Kennedy and his niece Caroline Kennedy before the Super Tuesday contests in February, told reporters he has "been in contact with the [Kennedy] family."
"They are in our thoughts and prayers," Obama said. "As I have said many times before, Ted Kennedy is a giant in American political history. He has done more for health care of others than just about anybody in history, and so, we are going to be rooting for him. And I insist on being optimistic about how it's going to turn out."
President George W. Bush called Kennedy Monday to wish him well in his recovery. Bush did not reach Kennedy, who was undergoing tests at the time of the call, but instead talked to the Senator's wife, Vicki Kennedy.
"Take care of my friend," Bush told Mrs. Kennedy, according to Stephanie Cutter, a Democratic strategist and Kennedy family spokesperson.
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, also released a statement on Kennedy, saying, "I was very sorry to hear that Sen. Kennedy has taken ill, and like millions of Americans, Cindy and I anxiously await word of his condition. Sen. Kennedy's role in the U.S. Senate cannot be overstated. He is a legendary lawmaker, and I have the highest respect for him."
Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., campaigning in Oregon, said, "Our thoughts and prayers are with Ted Kennedy and his family today. We wish him well, and a quick recovery."
Sen. John Kerry, Massachusetts' other senator, who was at the hospital with Kennedy and other members of his family, released a statement saying, "Ted Kennedy is beloved and respected on both sides of the aisle in the Senate, in which he's been a giant for close to half a century, a legend in Massachusetts, and a dear friend to me and [Kerry's wife] Teresa.
"He's also been a fighter who has overcome adversity again and again with courage, grit and determination," Kerry's statement said. "Teresa and I are praying for Teddy, Vicki and all of his family, and we know that everyone in Massachusetts and people throughout the nation pray for a full and speedy recovery for a man whose life's work has touched millions upon millions of lives."
The Associated Press and ABC News' Jen Duck,