SEN. EDWARD KENNEDY


BOSTON -- Sen. Edward M. Kennedy is out of surgery at Duke University, and his doctor says a procedure to treat his cancerous brain tumor "was successful and accomplished our goals."

The 76-year-old senator now faces chemotherapy and radiation to treat the malignant glioma, a lethal type of brain tumor.

"Sen. Kennedy was awake during the resection, and should therefore experience no permanent neurological effects from the surgery," Kennedy surgeon Dr. Allan Friedman said in a statement after the 3½-hour procedure. "The surgery is just the first step in Senator Kennedy's treatment plan. I hope that everyone will join us in praying for Senator Kennedy to have an uneventful and robust recovery."

A spokeswoman for the Massachusetts Democrat said Kennedy spoke with his wife, Vicki, right after surgery. He told her: "I feel like a million bucks. I think I'll do that again tomorrow."

The 76-year-old Democrat was diagnosed with a the tumor last month after he suffered a seizure at his Cape Cod home.

Biopsy results showed a malignant glioma in the left parietal lobe -- a section of the brain that governs sensation and plays a role in movement and language.

"Over the past several days, Vicki and I, along with my outstanding team of doctors at Massachusetts General Hospital, have consulted with experts from around the country and have decided that the best course of action for my brain tumor is targeted surgery followed by chemotherapy and radiation," Kennedy said in a statement.

Kennedy will undergo surgery with Dr. Allan Friedman at Duke University Medical Center, he said. Kennedy expects to remain there to recuperate for about a week before he starts radiation and chemotherapy at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Friedman is responsible for more than 90 percent of all tumor resections and biopsies conducted at Duke, according to Duke's Web site. He is head of the Laboratory of Neurosurgical Oncology and an Associate Chief of the Preuss Laboratory for Brain Tumor Research.

Dr. Timothy Johnson said that the senator could be undergoing so-called awake surgery, which is the kind of surgery often performed on patients with Kennedy's type of brain tumor.

"They keep the patient awake while they try to remove as much of the tumor as they can safely. They do it while the patient is awake so that the patient can, in a sense, guide them as to where they are and what the impact of their probing or removal is at that point," medical editor Dr. Timothy Johnson said.

Johnson said that Duke University Medical Center is known for being aggressive beyond what many other centers will do when it comes to brain cancer.

"It doesn't surprise me that (Kennedy) is there," Johnson said. "He will come back to the Mass General to have what is the more traditional therapy for this kind of brain cancer, which is a combination of an oral chemotherapy drug and radiation, presumably, over a six-week period."

The senator said that he's been humbled by the outpouring of support and is strengthened by well-wishers' prayers and looks forward to getting back to work.

"I am deeply grateful to the people of Massachusetts and to my friends, colleagues and so many others across the country and around the world who have expressed their support and good wishes as I tackle this new and unexpected health challenge," Kennedy said. "After completing treatment, 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."