Last month it was a malignant glioma. This month, it was brain surgery.

What’s next for Sen. Edward M. Kennedy? Conquering the world?

Nope, just some good ol’ fashioned radiation and chemotherapy.

Once Kennedy recovers from the 3 1/2 hours of brain surgery he successfully underwent yesterday at Duke University Medical Center (during this recovery time, doctors will treat and observe him for brain swelling, seizures, bleeding, and blood clots), he’ll head back up north to begin radiation and chemotherapy at Massachusetts General Hospital.

While the outlook for patients with malignant gliomas isn’t great, the associate deputy director of Duke’s brain tumor center, Dr. John Sampson, thinks Kennedy’s surgery Monday brought hope.

And Kennedy? Well, according to this Yahoo! News article he says, “I feel like a million bucks. I think I’ll do that again tomorrow.”

Image: Newscom

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Post from: Blisstree

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy Survives Brain Surgery And Plans Radiation And Chemotherapy

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy suffered a seizure today and, after undergoing a series of tests at Massachusetts General Hospital, is currently “resting comfortably” according to his spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter.

According to this Yahoo! News article, seizures are “little electrical storms in the brain” that “tend to be brief” and “can happen to anyone [...] especially if there has been some prior brain trauma.”

Cutter states that it’s unlikely anyone will know anything about Kennedy’s brain electrical storm for the next 48 hours. In the meantime, various political figures have visited and offered prayers including Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, and presidential contender Barack Obama.

Kennedy’s niece, Maria Shriver, and her husband California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, have received a plethora of messages and prayers, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid told folks at the Nevada Democratic Convention in Reno that Kennedy’s condition is serious, but not life-threatening. Reid added:

But the one thing I can say, if there ever was a fighter, anyone who stood for what we as Americans, we as Democrats, stand for, it’s Ted Kennedy.”

I don’t know what Americans or Democrats have to do with Kennedy’s health at this point (or, at any point, for that matter), but it’s good to hear Kennedy is a fighter nonetheless.

Here’s to wishing Kennedy a speedy recovery!

For more information about seizures, visit Epilepsy.com’s What Is a Seizure? and other related Web pages.

Image: Newscom

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Post from: Blisstree

Sen. Kennedy Experiences An Electrical Storm In His Brain