Kennedy's Cancer

(Newser) - Sen. Ted Kennedy was honored with an honorary degree yesterday in a poignant ceremony at Harvard where he spoke of a "renewed" destiny and reminisced about the days when his life of promise stretched before him. Kennedy appeared strong and in high spirits, despite battling brain cancer, reports the Boston Globe . He described his days at Harvard as "fresh as youth and yesterday" when he "learned to play football and believe" in public service. More »

(Newser) - Ted Kennedy returned to the US Senate today, having undergone 6 months of extensive treatment for a brain tumor, the Boston Globe reports. Accompanied by his wife, Vicki, and their dogs, Kennedy was greeted by applause from his family and staff in the Russell Caucus Room under a banner that read “Welcome Back, Senator.” More »

(AP) - Ted Kennedy, who has been recovering from brain cancer and chemotherapy on Cape Cod, will return to his Washington home today. The 76-year-old senator is expected to stay until Thanksgiving before returning to his family's Hyannis Port compound. Kennedy has steadily increased his public activity since his seizure in May, surgery in June, and six weeks of subsequent radiation treatment. More »

(Newser) - Even as he undergoes cancer treatment, Ted Kennedy is coordinating bipartisan meetings with colleagues and lobbyists in an effort to produce health care legislation that includes universal coverage, the Washington Times reports. The meetings—involving labor unions, insurers, drug companies, and hospitals—“are a testament to how people feel about him,” said a GOP senatorial aide. Kennedy has called universal care "the cause of my life." More »

(Newser) - Cancer researchers are finally taking seriously a young surgeon’s decade-long hunch that brain tumors are linked to a strain of herpes that lies dormant in 80% of Americans. The physician speculated that brain cancer patients—many of them affluent and educated—were more vulnerable to common viruses such as the herpes CMV strain because of their "hyper-hygienic" lives, reports the San Francisco Chronicle . More »

(Newser) - Sen. Edward Kennedy was rushed to a hospital yesterday with a "mild seizure," his office said. But he returned to his Hyannis Port compound to watch the presidential debate after about 3 hours of treatment. A change in medication prompted the seizure, doctors said. The senator was diagnosed with a lethal form of brain tumor after suffering a seizure 4 months ago, the Cape Cod Times reports. More »

(Newser) - Sen. Ted Kennedy has crafted a sweeping national service bill, to be introduced today, that would recruit 175,000 citizens of all ages to work in health, education, environmental protection and anti-poverty programs—with their pay partially subsidized by the government. The plan would provide $5 billion over five years to encourage citizens to work in community organizations—including faith-based groups—on programs aimed at solving national problems. More »

(Newser) - Ted Kennedy, still recuperating from cancer surgery, is postponing his return to the Senate until January, reports the Washington Post . Kennedy is undergoing radiation and chemotherapy, aides said. He has has only appeared publicly twice since surgery for a malignant brain tumor—to endorse Barack Obama at the Democratic Convention, and to vote on a key Medicare issue.  More »

(Newser) - Although Robert Novak has antagonized many in Washington, that hasn’t stopped the political columnist's targets from encouraging him as he battles brain cancer. “I have had few good things to say about Teddy Kennedy since I first met him,” Novak admits in a syndicated column distributed today, yet his fellow cancer patient and his wife "have treated me like a close friend."