Ted Kennedy has brain tumor

[momoffuzzyfaces]

Fox News just reported that Ted Kennedy has a malignant brain tumor!

He went into the hospital after having two seizures this weekend.

[Grace]

When they said originally that it was in fact a seizure, not a stroke, the first thought that popped in my head was brain tumor.

Long term survival is not good for brain tumors.

[Pam]

The Kennedy family has been dogged with troubles for decades. I wish him the best. He was not my favorite Kennedy. I could never get past the *Mary Jo Kopechne incident* but I do feel badly for him now.

[Karen]

When they said originally that it was in fact a seizure, not a stroke, the first thought that popped in my head was brain tumor.

Long term survival is not good for brain tumors.

That's not necessarily true. It very much depends on the kind of brain tumor. Sen. Kennedy is, right now, in the hospital where I had my brain tumor removed. In my case it was not malignant, but I have friends who had malignant brain tumors removed. Of the five of us that belonged at one time to my church, four are still alive, and the one who recently died lived to see his sons grow up, start their careers and got to know his two grandsons. When we first met, it was about 20 years ago, and he had just had his first brain tumor removed. So 20 years is long-term by most standards.

[momoffuzzyfaces]

The Kennedy family has been dogged with troubles for decades. I wish him the best. He was not my favorite Kennedy. I could never get past the *Mary Jo Kopechne incident* but I do feel badly for him now.

That's the way I feel too. He's the last of the Kennedy's that were around when I was growing up. Seems he has been a Senator for a long long time. I do wish him well.

Any tumor is frightening but brain tumors are even more so.

[Laura's Babies]

For those of you that remember Brandon, that was in that bad wreck about 3 years ago... He had a brain tumor when he was a child, they got it out and he went on with his life... It grew back and they cut it out again and so far has had no more problems with it...

[Grace]

For those of you that remember Brandon, that was in that bad wreck about 3 years ago... He had a brain tumor when he was a child, they got it out and he went on with his life... It grew back and they cut it out again and so far has had no more problems with it...

There are tumors, and then there are tumors. The particular type of cells determines the treatment.

For instance, the parietal area of the brain, where Kennedy's tumor is situated, governs the ability to speak and understand, movement on the right side of the body. One doctor describes it as high-risk real estate.

Surgery in this area can be tricky. A doctor on CNN just a bit ago said this -

"The problem with glioma is, when surgeons go in and try to work on this, it's nearly impossible to tell what is tumor and what is brain cells, because this is a tumor of the brain cells," she said. The result, sometimes, is that the surgery causes brain damage, Wright said.

My father died of a malignant brain tumor, back in 1945. He had 3 craniotomies over a period of 18 months. Each time the tumor grew back, because they were unable to get out all the tumor cells.

[smokey the elder]

I think that's why they want to do radiation and/or chemo, since they don't want to be digging around in his brain if the tumor isn't well-defined.

"Tumor" came to my mind as well when a person with no history of seizures up and had one.

[Grace]

That's not necessarily true. It very much depends on the kind of brain tumor. Sen. Kennedy is, right now, in the hospital where I had my brain tumor removed. In my case it was not malignant, but I have friends who had malignant brain tumors removed. Of the five of us that belonged at one time to my church, four are still alive, and the one who recently died lived to see his sons grow up, start their careers and got to know his two grandsons. When we first met, it was about 20 years ago, and he had just had his first brain tumor removed. So 20 years is long-term by most standards.

Karen, 20 years survival after surgery for a malignant brain tumor is a miracle!!

You are correct about the type of tumor - I addressed that in my response to Laura's Babies. Different cell types mean different treatment options and different outcomes. But overall, the prognosis for a malignancy in the brain is not good. Part of the problem is the location. Inside the brain, space is very limited, there is no place to spread out.

I'm curious, did you have a pituitary tumor?

[momoffuzzyfaces]

They said Sen Kennedy has been a senator since 1962. Gosh, I was only 11. No wonder it seems like he has been around a long time. That's 46 years. I didn't think he was that old. Or that people could serve in the Senate that long.

[lizbud]

They said Sen Kennedy has been a senator since 1962. Gosh, I was only 11. No wonder it seems like he has been around a long time. That's 46 years. I didn't think he was that old. Or that people could serve in the Senate that long.

As long as they are healthy & keep winning elections they can be in
pulbic service for many years. Just look at Sen. Byrd from West Virginia.

What a sad day for his family. I do hope he can be helped.

[Freedom]

Last I heard, his ETA to the next stage in life is a year, more or less.

[Lady's Human]

That's why they call the Senate the best nursing home in the US. Most of the senators are advanced in age, to put it mildly.

I have a co-worker recovering from a brain tumor. At first they didn't think he'd live to see NY again, now he's worrying about when he can get back to driving.

Chemo and radiation have come a long, long way.

[Karen]

Karen, 20 years survival after surgery for a malignant brain tumor is a miracle!!

You are correct about the type of tumor - I addressed that in my response to Laura's Babies. Different cell types mean different treatment options and different outcomes. But overall, the prognosis for a malignancy in the brain is not good. Part of the problem is the location. Inside the brain, space is very limited, there is no place to spread out.

I'm curious, did you have a pituitary tumor?

No, I had an acoustic neuroma, which is a tumor on the hearing nerve. That is why I am deaf of one side, but it was removed, so it would not keep growing slowly and eventually kill me.

But I had it removed right at Mass General, and at the time (12 years ago), there were only 8 places in the entire world that surgery could even be done. So Senator Kennedy is in the right place. My surgeon, Dr. Ojemann, has since retired, but I am sure others equally as kind and talented are still there.

They said on the news this evening the usual prognosis for a glioma is 1-5 years survival, but as has been noted, things are improving for cancer treatment all the time.

[Grace]

Mass General - the doctor on CNN this afternoon said Senator Kennedy was in the best hospital on the planet.

I know the reputation of it, having grown up in Rhode Island.

They said on the news this evening the usual prognosis for a glioma is 1-5 years survival, but as has been noted, things are improving for cancer treatment all the time.

That's true, but it is so much slower when the cancer is in the brain. As I mentioned above, my father died of a malignant brain tumor in 1945. He lived 18 months after diagnosis. The survival rate is really not significantly better now - 63 years later. I know there are exceptions, but overall the prognosis is terrible.