When Dr. Santos Shetty heard Sen. Edward Kennedy suffered a seizure over the weekend, his first thought was "I wonder if he has a brain tumor?"
Shetty's suspicions were confirmed yesterday when Kennedy's doctors at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston said he had a malignant glioma in the left parietal lobe, a part of the brain that helps govern sensation, movement and language.
The 76-year-old senator and sole surviving son of America's most storied political family suffered the seizure at the family compound in Hyannisport on Saturday.
Kennedy was with family at the hospital yesterday as the diagnosis was announced.
"Obviously, it's tough news for any son to hear," said Robin Costello, a spokeswoman for one of Kennedy's sons, Rep. Patrick Kennedy, D-R.I. "He's comforted by the fact that his dad is such a fighter, and if anyone can get through something as challenging as this, it would be his father."
At Caritas Holy Family Hospital in Methuen, doctors treat approximately 30 similar brain tumors per year, said Shetty, the medical director of radiation oncology at the hospital.
"The best result we see is when a surgeon can actually go in and remove the tumor," Shetty said.
Major advances in drugs, technology and treatment have radically improved in recent years. Brain tumors can also be treated with stereotactic radiosurgery — a special radiation beam that "very precisely" administers a high dose of radiation to the tumor, Shetty said.
Will be in hospital a few more days
Kennedy's treatment won't be determined until he undergoes more tests. Tumors are graded from 1 to 4, from slow growing to aggressive.
Kennedy's doctors said he will remain in the hospital for the next couple of days as they consider what to do.
"He has had no further seizures, remains in good overall condition and is up and walking around the hospital," said a joint statement by Dr. Lee Schwamm, vice chairman of the Department of Neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital and Dr. Larry Ronan, Kennedy's primary care physician.
Some outside experts gave him no more than three years — and perhaps far less.
"As a general rule, at 76, without the ability to do a surgical resection, as kind of a ballpark figure you're probably looking at a survival of less than a year," Dr. Keith Black, chairman of neurosurgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, told The Associated Press.
Rep. Stanley says attitude is critical
The diagnosis shocked the state which he has represented since 1962 after his brother John F. Kennedy left the Senate upon his election to the presidency.
State Rep. Harriett Stanley, D-West Newbury, a brain tumor survivor herself, described the news as "eerie."
"There's a real feeling of 'deja vu' today," Stanley said. Seven years ago this month, during an MRI at Mass General, doctors found a tumor on the back, right side of Stanley's brain.
"Mine was benign while his is malignant, which is significantly different," Stanley said. "It's not news that anyone wants to hear in their lifetime."
She said size and location of a brain tumor are critical for survival. And how ready physically and mentally you are to fight is extremely important. Kennedy, she said, is "battle tested."
"The will to win, to beat this, is what's critical," Stanley said.
Approximately 16,000 brain tumors are diagnosed annually in the United States. As humans age, they are at greater risk for developing them.
A seizure is a major brain tumor symptom. Other signs include memory loss, paralysis, headaches, nausea and vomiting. The brain is made up of a series of centers that control all body functions.
"A tumor can start in any part of the brain," Shetty said.
Surgery, followed by chemotherapy and radiation, are successful at knocking down brain tumors. However, tumors are sometimes located so deeply in the brain that surgery is impossible.
The surgery, Shetty of Caritas Holy Family Hospital, said "could cause a catastrophe."
Locals recall political icon
In Lawrence last night, the City Council held a moment of silence for the "safe and speedy recovery of our senior senator," said Patrick Blanchette, council president.
Blanchette yesterday recalled when he met Kennedy for the first time in the 1980s. His brother, then state Rep. Kevin Blanchette, invited Kennedy to an elderly tea.
"I can remember being in awe standing in the same room with a political legend. I watched him go table to table shaking hands with over 800 senior citizens of Lawrence at the Plains Community Center," Blanchette said, noting that "he shook every hand."
Essex County Sheriff Frank Cousins saw Kennedy just last month at a sheriffs conference in Washington, D.C.
"He's just a great guy and I feel terrible his health is in question," Cousins said.
Cousins has always been impressed with Kennedy's ability to "engage" people and get results. "This guy is always on his game and into his work," Cousins said.
The sheriff said he tries to make it a point to always wish people "good health."
"This is the reason you do that," he said.
Kennedy, dressed in a gray sweater and dark slacks, joked and laughed with family members as he sat at a table in a family room at the hospital where he allowed photographs to be taken yesterday.
Kennedy's wife since 1992, Vicki, and his five children and stepchildren have been at his bedside.
Staff reporter J.J. Huggins contributed to this report. Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.
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Reactions to Kennedy cancer diagnosis:
"He's been a fighter all his life for the people of Massachusetts. Now we'll fight with him and keep him in our thoughts and prayers." — State Sen. Susan Tucker, D-Andover
"Ted's tireless and legendary devotion to the causes of equal opportunity and health care for all Americans has benefited countless lives. His decadeslong commitment to this institution and to this country has earned him the respect, admiration, and affection among his colleagues on both sides of the aisle and among the people of Massachusetts for generations, and I look forward to seeing him back in the Congress very soon." — U.S. Rep. Niki Tsongas, D-Mass.
"The senator has been involved in everything good that has taken place in the city of Lawrence." — Lawrence Mayor Michael Sullivan
"He's a compassionate leader who fights for the working class." — Lawrence City Council President Patrick Blanchette
"He has been our go-to guy in Washington for many years now. We all have just been accustomed to his great work, we all take it for granted." — Methuen Mayor William Manzi
"Laura and I are concerned to learn of our friend Senator Kennedy's diagnosis. Ted Kennedy is a man of tremendous courage, remarkable strength, and powerful spirit. Our thoughts are with Senator Kennedy and his family during this difficult period. We join our fellow Americans in praying for his full recovery." — President Bush
"Every one of us knows what a big heart this fellow has. He's helped millions and millions of people — from the biggest of legislation on the floor to the most personal." — U.S. Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass.
