Kennedy to Undergo Surgery At Duke University

[katerinasmommy]

Source: MSNBC

Ted Kennedy will undergo surgery at Duke University this morning to surgically target his tumor followed by radiation and chemo therapy

No link yet.

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God Bless You Senator

[aquart]

1. They did their research. Duke is IT for brain tumors.

And I have a friend still walking around and holding down his job to prove it.

[cal04]

2. Sen. Kennedy To Undergo Surgery At Duke (link)

http://wcbstv.com/politics/kennedy.brain.tumor.2.738163.html

Senator Edward Kennedy will undergo surgery for his brain tumor at Duke University Medical Center.

Kennedy was released from the hospital on May 21, one day after being diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumor that experts said was almost certainly fatal.

Doctors said Wednesday the Massachusetts Democrat "has recovered remarkably quickly" from a biopsy conducted after he suffered a seizure the weekend before at his home on Cape Cod.

The doctors said he would have awaited further test results and treatment options while convalescing at his home over the Memorial Day weekend.

Kennedy was treated at Massachusetts General Hospital for what doctors said was a malignant glioma in his left parietal lobe. Malignant gliomas are diagnosed in about 9,000 Americans a year; in general, half of all patients die within a year.


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24927252/
CNN reported the procedure would begin at 9 a.m. EDT Monday.
Kennedy expects to remain at the North Carolina facility for one week to recuperate and then will begin further treatments at Massachusetts General Hospital and start chemotherapy.




my thoughts and prayers are with you and your family Senator!

[Tippy]

35. Senator Kennedy....God Bless You.I pray for God to guide the surgeons hands

[JI7]

3. good luck Senator

[Botany]

4. Jan. 2009 Obama's swearing in .... see you there Ted.

All the best to Ted.

[maddezmom]

5. sending good thoughts

for a speedy recovery.

[Window]

6. Prayers and blessing to you Senator Kennedy.

[DainBramaged]

7. Having been there Senator, I will see you on this side of the moon

You will be on the platform with President Obama on 1-20-09, the end of an error.

Godspeed.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2008/06/02/senator_kennedy_to_have_brain_surgery_this_morning/

[bluescribbler]

13. Stay well

I found this part of the article significant:

Before leaving for North Carolina, Kennedy telephoned Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, both to tell him of his plans and to highlight two significant pieces of legislation that Kennedy has in the works: higher education reauthorization and mental health parity, Kennedy aides said. The senator also called Senators Christopher Dodd and Barbara Mikulski to ask their help in shepherding the bills through their respective conference committees.

Even with all that he's going through, he's still focused on the people's work.

[hisownpetard]

32. That truly testifies to his devotion. If anyone can beat this, he can. Good luck, Teddy.

[ms liberty]

8. Duke is one of the best hospitals for cancer, I know. They saved my life 10 yrs ago...

Welcome to my beautiful state of NC, Senator Kennedy! My hopes and prayers for healing and good health are with you. I want to see you dancing at an Inauguration Ball in January.

[sellitman]

9. This hits me close to home.

In Feb. my son has a benign tumor the size of a small tangerine removed from his head. He was lucky and from what we can tell won't need radiation or Chemo. He is still having seizures because his brain hasnt normalized yet but what Ted and the Kennedys are going through now is beyond scary. We know. Godspeed Ted.

[eowyn_of_rohan]

15. Best wishes to you and your son...

I can imagine how frightening and exhausting such an experience has been. I hope his brain normalizes quickly, so that all this can be put behind you, and that he can go on to live a long and happy life!

[sellitman]

27. Thank you.

Many here on DU were as nice as you when we were up against it and believe me it helped.

[fight4my3sons]

17. .

:hug:

Me too.

My sister had a benign tumor removed 9 years ago at Mt. Sinai in NYC. It was the longest surgery I ever had to sit through. Apparently the tumor was vascular and they did not know it would be? It was in the artery that runs down the middle of your brain. She has to have MRIs every six months ot make sure it has not returned as they could not remove every bit of it. She lost the control of the right side of her body afterward and had to have inpatient rehab for a few months in Westchester. She also had seizures for a few years, but has been on a few meds since (Topamax is the one that seems to work the best for her). Last August she gave birth to a beautiful baby boy - something that she was told would never happen! It took a long time for her to be able to return to work and regular life, but she did it.

Hugs to you and your son.

[sellitman]

26. We were lucky. (so to speak)

Rob's tumor was a very rare kind that was self contained and he didn't suffer the side effect of surgery besides seizures because they didn't have to cut into much of the brain tissue. We had one of the if not the best surgeons in the world at Yale in New Haven Ct. Glad your sister has bounced back. She is lucky to have you. Hugs.

[bluescribbler]

10. Go Ted!!!

I'll be wearing my Re-Elect Kennedy shirt at the Mass. Democratic Convention this Saturday. Even though it's John Kerry up for re-election this year. I just feel the need to show my support.

[bdamomma]

11. Senator Kennedy you are in my thoughts

for a speedy recovery.

[AngryOldDem]

12. Godspeed, Senator. n/t

[LiberalAndProud]

14. My thoughts are with him today.

Be well, Senator Kennedy.

[Blaq Dem]

16. Very tense. Let's wish him well.

I know very little about brain cancer. Thanks goes out to all of you for sharing your knowledge and experience.

[fight4my3sons]

18. My thoughts are with Senator Kennedy today

and his family.

[globalvillage]

19. Best wishes to the Senator.

Sending prayers Teddy's way.

[Stinky The Clown]

20. Hang in there, Senator Ted.

[fed_up_mother]

21. My best wishes and prayers are with him.

We NEED him.

[gatorboy]

22. Sending prayers to the Lion.

[Dangerously Amused]

23. Love and strength to Ted and the family.

[AngryOldDem]

24. MSNBC: Surgery to go into at least midafternoon....

...will stay at Duke for at least a week before returning to Boston for rest and chemo.

[DainBramaged]

25. Yup, it will last a few hours, could be longer, or very short

if they don't like what they find.

[sellitman]

28. You got that right.

Not many here really understand what the Kennedys are going through like you and I. For my son it was a shorter time in hours but it was the longest hours of my life.

Hugs

[DainBramaged]

30. For me it was over 4 hours, not including prep or recovery

before critical care kicked in for the next 12 hours.

:hug:

[supernova]

29. Yes, you want it to go on for a while

if it ends quickly, it means they got in, looked around, and decided they couldn't do anything.

[Myrina]

31. Lost my mom to a glioma 20 years ago ...

... they are aggressive, nasty things.

May Goddess' blessings be with you, Senator. O8)

[mdmc]

33. God Bless

:patriot:

[VP505]

34. Best Wishes and

good thoughts going out for you Senator Kennedy, get well soon the 111th Congress really needs you to be there!!!

[DesertRat]

36. My prayers are with the Senator, his doctors and his family

Hang in there Senator Ted. We need you! :grouphug:

[sonias]

37. Sending healing wishes and prayers for Senator Kennedy

If there is one person that deserves some good luck it would be Senator Kennedy. May you beat the odds Senator and the best of health to you!

:hug:

Sonia

[defendandprotect]

38. Loving thoughts --- and hurry back to us ---

[Deep13]

39. Ted! Ted! Ted! Ted!

Just trying to be encouraging. If they can operate, maybe it isn't as bad as we thought.

[OhioChick]

40. My thoughts and prayers

are with the Senator and his family.

[uppityperson]

41. Best wishes Sen Kennedy. Rest peaceful, whatever happens. Thank you for your service. eom

[RoccoR5955]

42. He'll make it through this!

:kick:
He's a fighter. This is just a minor setback for him. You mark my words, Ted will be back on his feet, and in the Senate, slamming those Cons in no time flat!

[NewEnglandGirl]

43. All of my thoughts and prayers

are there for you. I will be lighting a candle later on today for you. Please get better. If good wishes are all you need, you'll be more than fine.

[AFSCME girl]

44. I would like to concur

with so many on this post. Godspeed, Senator. We can't wait to see you dancing at the Inaugural Balls in January!

We all love you and God Bless!! :loveya: :hug:

[mzmolly]

45. Sending thoughts and prayers

his way.

[ailsagirl]

46. My thoughts are very much with him and his family n/t

[unc70]

47. Relative had similar tumor, same Duke team a couple years back

Saw her last month. She is still in remission and doing well.

She was only in the hospital a couple of days for the surgery! Then stayed near Duke for about 8-10 days. Amazed when she came to dinner at my house 4-5 days after the surgery.

We joked about "drive-through" and outpatient brain surgery.

I pray for a similar result for Kennedy and many more years for each of them.

[DemEyeDick]

48. Good Luck Senator Kennedy

I hope you come back stronger than ever. Your leadership is needed more than ever at this time.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

49. I've been praying for him all day

ever since I read the news. The surgery started at 8:00 EDT, I believe-any word on when it will be finished?

[robinlynne]

50. I can't even imagine losing this wonderful man.

[dweller]

51. ABC radionews just announced surgery is over

and was successful. Still a week of care, but expected to return to Senate.


dp

[csziggy]

52. My sister had the same cancer back in 1992

She was a research physiologist who specialized in the brain and let some of the neurosurgeons who she had worked with try out treatments on her that were new back then. Originally the prognosis was for her to live less than three months. She had two surgeries to remove the tumor (first as soon as the cancer was diagnosed, second was a year later when the tumor regrew), chemo and radiation. She lived a year and a half after the diagnosis - amazing to the doctors back then.

Her cancer was in the parietal area the same as Sen. Kennedy's. She lost her speech gradually - the last day I was able to communicate with her in words was the day the Branch Davidian compound burned.

I am glad Sen. Kennedy is doing well. I hope he will continue to thrive and be the statesman he has been for the last 40 years. We need him more than ever.

It is encouraging to read of the people here who have had brain tumors and are doing well. I like to think that my sister's willingness to be an experimental subject let people live with a good quality of life.