Miscellaneous.

Best wishes to Ted Kennedy as he undergoes surgery for his brain tumor today.

It is considered risky. He underwent surgery at about 6 a.m. out west, and it will last about six hours.

The surgery comes as something of a surprise because, after the initial diagnosis was made nearly two weeks ago, Kennedy's doctors did not mention surgery as a treatment option. Rather, they limited their focus to radiation and chemotherapy, and later, Kennedy associates hinted that he would seek experimental drug treatments.


The surgery is considered the most aggressive approach he could take in addressing his malignant brain tumor.

I really hope the doctors know what they are doing.

Ted Kennedy

was released from Massachusetts General Hospital today.

The prognosis is uncertain for Kennedy, who looked good considering the diagnosis. A number of people were on hand to cheer him and wish him well. His beloved Portuguese water dogs were there to greet him.

This kind of sums everything up:

A summary of Kennedy's achievements in the Senate, compiled by his staff, is 50 single-spaced pages long. "That's the trimmed-down version," an aide said recently.
Kennedy is the only one of the four brothers to live through middle age. His three brothers all died prematurely: Joseph P. Kennedy Jr., killed in 1944 on a World War II bombing mission; John F. Kennedy, assassinated in Dallas in 1963; and Robert F. Kennedy, assassinated while campaigning for the Democratic presidential nomination in Los Angeles in 1968.

Political success and personal tragedy have marked the story of one of the nation's most famous families. Three other nephews died tragically - John F. Kennedy Jr. in a plane crash, Michael Kennedy in a skiing accident, and David Kennedy from a drug overdose. Two of Edward Kennedy's children, Edward Jr. and Kara, are cancer survivors.

Kennedy has suffered through his own misfortune and failure. In 1964, he suffered a broken back in a small plane crash in Western Massachusetts that resulted in the death of the pilot and one of Kennedy's aides. In 1969, Mary Jo Kopechne drowned when a car driven by Kennedy went off a bridge on Chappaquiddick Island, and Kennedy left the scene.

Because there is no cure for a malignant brain tumor, it will be very tough sailing for him.

Vicki Kennedy (bio) wrote an e-mail to well-wishers, saying the family was thrown a "curve ball" with the diagnosis.

This video is about Kennedy's tumor:



In 2006 Time named him as one of the ten best U.S. senators.

No doubt he'll be remembered as one of the best in American history.

Update: Ted Sorensen talked to Chris Matthews about Ted:




Here is a video clip from the Boston Globe showing Ted Kennedy and wife Vicki leaving the hospital this morning. Their dogs, Splash and Sunny, were there.

Those

who haven't treated Ted Kennedy but are going on what his doctors have diagnosed say his prognosis is poor.

That's based on averages, of course:

But other specialists said that the diagnostic details released by the hospital indicated that Kennedy has terminal brain cancer and most likely less than three years to live -- perhaps much less.

"Unfortunately, it's a really serious tumor," said Dr. Patrick Wen, clinical director for neuro-oncology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Mass. General's descripton of the tumor as a malignant glioma probably means the tumor is at stage 3 or 4 on a four-point scale of severity, with 4 the most serious, Wen said.

"The average survival for a Grade 4 tumor is 14 or 15 months," he said. "For a Grade 3 tumor, it's two to three years. Unfortunately, the older you are, the worse it is. The biology of the tumor is worse, it's more aggressive."

That absolutely stinks. I hope Kennedy can overcome the odds. He's been a fighter all of his life.

This picture from the Boston Globe by Bill Greene of Kennedy and his family at the hospital show him to be in good spirits:



Update: I decided to put up some MSNBC video reports of Kennedy's latest health problems:





It is clear people on both sides of the aisle really like him:

I Just Heard

Senator Ted Kennedy has a malignant brain tumor.

There are no links yet to this. It was just reported on the NYT and CNN.

CNN:

Sen. Edward Kennedy has a malignant brain tumor. The hospital treating Kennedy released a statement today saying that the tumor was found during tests after the senator had a seizure Saturday. The tumor is in his left parietal lobe. Full story soon.

Kennedy will remain in the hospital for several more days as the family decides on treatment options.


This isn't good:

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.

Senate colleagues have reacted to the news.

Some background information about gliomas can be found here.

Kennedy's health crisis has overshadowed today's primaries.


A photo essay of pictures of Kennedy throughout the years can be found here.



This is an interesting piece from 2002 about Kennedy:

I asked Arizona Republican John McCain (co-sponsor with Kennedy of the patients' bill of rights) to illuminate Kennedy's ability to reach across the divide of party affiliation and form intricate human bonds.

"Ted always keeps his word," McCain responded. "This is essential in a small group of people like the Senate. There is no bullshit with Ted. You know exactly where he is coming from. He does what he says he will do. He is a great listener in a body of poor listeners. This makes it easy to deal with him. Look, I've had my fights with him. We disagree on a lot of things. But Ted doesn't have a mean bone in his body. He likes people. And he doesn't hold a grudge."

Even Trent Lott, the conservative Republican leader in the Senate, has warmed up to Kennedy after years of pressuring GOP senators not to partner with him on legislation. In 1998 Lott sent Kennedy a handwritten note that is now framed in Kennedy's office. Lott wrote:

Your thoughtfulness truly amazes me. First the print from Cape Cod. Then the special edition of Profiles in Courage. I brought it home and re-read it. What an inspiration! Thank you, my friend, for your many courtesies. If the world only knew.