| 9 weeks 1 day 8 hours ago Kennedy is a 'major' political figure
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(NECN: Boston, Mass.) - Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy has been diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumor, which caused the seizure he suffered over the weekend. This is a grim diagnosis for one of American politics' most enduring figures.
Peter Canellos, a reporter for the Boston Globe Washington Bureau, joins NECN to talk about Kennedy's importance in the general election and in the opening days of a new administration.
"Kennedy's importance can't be underestimated," said Canellos. "Kennedy himself is a very popular, gregarious figure in the Senate."
Canellos said, in some sense, whoever the next president may be, they will rely on Ted Kennedy.
Doctors at Masachusetts General Hospital said tests conducted after the seizure showed a tumor in Kennedy's left parietal lobe. Preliminary results from a biopsy of the brain identified the cause of the seizure as a malignant glioma, they said.
His treatment will be decided after more tests but the usual course includes combinations of radiation and chemotherapy.
Kennedy has been hospitalized in Boston since Saturday, when he was airlifted from Cape Cod after a seizure at his home.
Links to resources on gliomas:
Wikipedia entry on gliomas
Mayo Clinic information on gliomas
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