Ted kennedy brain tumor prognosis

Ted kennedy brain tumor prognosis

May 20, 2008 Tuesday, Diagnostic tests showed Sen. Ted Kennedy has a malignant brain tumor. The 76-year-old Kennedy had been resting up in the hospital undergoing tests, since a seizure over the weekend. MRI brain scan with and without contrast such as the images below on the next page, demonstrated the senator to have a brain tumor known as a glioma in his left parietal lobe.

A malignant tumor may be contrasted with a non-cancerous benign tumor in that a malignancy is not self-limited in its growth, is capable of invading into adjacent tissues, and may be capable of spreading to distant tissues (metastasizing), while a benign tumor has none of those properties.

The MRI brain scans with and without contrast are the modality of choice to demonstrate neurological problems persist such as the ones experienced by Ted Kennedy caused by the brain tumor.

Symptoms that can be caused by a Glioma, but not always the result of one are:
Although common symptoms of the disease include seizure, nausea and vomiting, headache, and hemiparesis, the single most prevalent symptom is a progressive memory, personality, or neurological deficit due to temporal and frontal lobe involvement. When they say temporal, that is the side of the brain around your ears. Frontal lobe is located behind your forehead. The kind of symptoms produced depends highly on the location of the tumor, more so than on its pathological properties. The brain tumor like the one Ted Kennedy has, could produce symptoms quickly but more than occasionally it will never show any outward signs on the individual until it reaches an enormous size.

These MRI Brain scans with and without contrast demonstrate that same kind of Ted Kennedy Brain Tumor, yet are on the right side near the top of the head or Parietal lobe area…just above the temporal lobe. This will give you an idea of location and what Ted Kennedy’s Brain Tumor may look like.

Glioma Types such as the Ted Kennedy Brain Tumor and Treatment there of:

There are several different types of gliomas.

They are categorized according to the type of glial cell from which the tumor arises:

• Astrocytoma

• Arise from astrocytes
• The most common type of glioma
• Tumors range from benign and slow growing to malignant and very rapidly progressing
• The most aggressive form of glioma is a high-grade astrocytoma referred to as glioblastoma multiforme, or glioblastoma
• Treatment depends on the area of the brain affected and severity of the tumor-type – surgery and radiation are standard treatment for most types, chemotherapy and other treatments may be used in severe cases

• Oligodendroglioma

• Arise from oligodendrocytes 
• Less common than astrocytomas
• Tumors range from benign and slow growing to malignant and rapidly progressing
• Treatment depends on the area of the brain affected and severity of the tumor-type – surgery and radiation are standard treatment for most types, chemotherapy and other treatments may be used in more severe cases

• Ependymoma

• Arise from ependymal cells 
• Less common than astrocytomas
• Most tumors are benign and slow growing and respond well to surgery and radiation therapy

• Mixed glioma

• Arise from a mixture of astrocytes and oligodendrocytes 
• Tumors range from slow growing to malignant and rapidly progressive
• Treatment depends on the area of the brain affected and severity of the tumor-type – surgery and radiation are standard treatment for most types, chemotherapy and other treatments may be used in more severe cases

• Ganglioglioma

• Involve glial and neuronal cells 
• The rarest form of glioma
• Tumors are generally benign and respond well to surgery

Prognosis
The median survival time from the time of diagnosis without any treatment is 3 months. Increasing age (> 60 years of age) carries a worse prognostic risk. Death is usually due to cerebral edema or increased intracranial pressure.

With standard treatment (radiotherapy, chemotherapy (such as temozolomide), and surgery), the median survival is approximately 14 months.[13] Less than 10% of these patients survive past 5 years. I know with odds like this can be very discouraging, yet patients can survive past the 5 years, but you have to be on a mission to raise your immunity system with diet, exercise, complete obedience to doctors orders…it can be done and no matter the varying opinions of the Kennedy family, our prayers are with Ted Kennedy and his family!

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