Originally published by the Voice of America (www.voanews.com).
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June 2, 2008

US Senator Edward Kennedy in North Carolina for Brain Surgery 
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Senator's office says he will receive chemotherapy, radiation treatment after operation; Kennedy expected to be hospitalized for about one week 
U.S. Senator Edward Kennedy has been undergoing surgery targeting a malignant brain tumor. The surgery was expected to last six hours, with a recovery period of a week or longer. VOA's Michael Bowman reports from Washington. 







Senator Ted Kennedy (file photo)

Less than two weeks after a devastating diagnosis of an aggressive form of brain cancer, a team of neurosurgeons at Duke University Medical Center in North Carolina decided to operate on the Massachusetts senator. The facility has a brain tumor research center, and is considered America's foremost institution for treating the usually-fatal condition.

In a statement, Kennedy said that he, his family, and his physicians have decided that the best course of action to combat the tumor is "targeted surgery followed by chemotherapy and radiation." He added that he looked forward to returning to the Senate.

Medical experts say the location of Kennedy's brain tumor will make it difficult to remove without causing damage to parts of the brain that control speech, eyesight, and other functions. Eric Wong is a neurologist at Harvard University's Beth Israel Medical Center in Boston.

"This type of tumor is not discrete on [separate from] the brain. Tumor and brain tissue are intermixed together," Wong eplained.

One of America's best-known political figures, Kennedy is the second-longest serving member of the U.S. Senate and the younger brother of President John Kennedy. First elected to the Senate in 1962, Edward Kennedy unsuccessfully ran for president in 1980, challenging President Jimmy Carter's nomination for a second term. Widely regarded as one of America's most left-leaning legislators, Kennedy has been a champion of civil rights and governmental activism on behalf of the poor and disadvantaged in society.

This year, he made headlines as an early endorser of Democratic presidential aspirant Barack Obama. 







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