Sen. Edward Kennedy undergoes surgery for brain tumor
Tuesday, June 3rd 2008, 1:41 AM
Sen. Ed Kennedy
A feisty Edward Kennedy defied his cancer Monday, undergoing risky brain surgery to rid himself of most of the malignant tumor trying to kill him.
The surgery could have permanently robbed him of the ability to speak. Instead, the old liberal warrior came out of it with a quip.
"I feel like a million bucks," Kennedy told his wife, Vicki, his spokeswoman said. "I think I'll do that again tomorrow."
Surgery is the most aggressive approach he could take against the lethal cancer eating at his brain. It was a surprise move, given that his doctors had only previously mentioned treating him with chemo and radiation.
The surgery can extend survival time beyond the expected year, but only by three to six extra months, experts said.
The Massachusetts senator, 76, spent 3-1/2 hours under the knife at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C.
"Sen. Kennedy's surgery was successful and accomplished our goals," said Dr. Allan Friedman, the prominent brain surgeon who led the operation, known as a resection.
"Sen. Kennedy was awake during the resection, and should therefore experience no permanent neurological effects from the surgery," Friedman said.
Kennedy's malignant tumor, called a glioma, is in the left parietal lobe of the brain, which controls speech, comprehension and visual skills.
The tumor was diagnosed May 20 after Kennedy suffered a seizure.
Kennedy's cancer cannot be cured by the removal of the tumor, but cutting away as much of it as possible allows chemotherapy and radiation to be more effective, doctors say.
After about a week-long recuperation, Kennedy will begin radiation and chemotherapy treatment at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.
In a statement before he went under the knife, Kennedy said, "I look forward to returning to the United States Senate and to doing everything I can to help elect Barack Obama as our next President."
The news that the Lion of the Senate was dying saddened even his strongest political adversaries and prompted a national wave of mourning.
"I am humbled by the outpouring and am strengthened by your prayers and kindness," Kennedy said.
Sen. Kennedy Gives Doctors Assistance:
It sounds like science fiction, but Sen. Edward Kennedy was awake during surgery to remove his brain tumor.
That's because doctors need patients to help them perform a delicate balancing act: taking out as much of the cancer as possible without damaging parts of the brain responsible for speaking, moving and feeling.
Surgeons ask the patient to speak - say, by reciting the Pledge of Allegiance - while sending light electrical currents to the part of the brain they're operating on.
"If those areas are involved in speech, the patient will be unable to speak, recognize words or finish a sentence," said Dr. John Golfinos, an associate professor of neurosurgery at NYU Cancer Institute.
If that happens, surgeons may leave some of the tumor behind.
Doctors can perform similar tests on the motor and sensation regions of the brain while a patient is asleep using electrodes attached to the scalp, Golfinos said.
It's not clear how much of the tumor surgeons at Duke University Medical Center were able to remove. Kennedy's surgery "was successful and accomplished our goals," said Dr. Allan Friedman, who operated on the Massachusetts Democrat.
-Jordan Lite