Sen. Edward Kennedy announced in 2008 that he had a brain tumor in his left parietal lobe . Sen. Edward Kennedy announced in May 2008 that he was suffering from a brain tumor , a malignant glioma , in his left parietal lobe . He had surgery at Duke University in June 2008 . Is surgery the usual course of treatment to take ? Dr. Sanjay Gupta , CNN chief medical correspondent : Yes , surgery to remove the tumor is common , provided surgeons are able to remove a large part of the tumor and as long as they can avoid causing unacceptable neurologic injury . The goal with surgery to remove a brain tumor is to get as much of the tumor as possible without damaging the key areas of the brain that control speech and motor skills . This was something Kennedy 's doctors would have determined prior to surgery by taking MRIs to see how close his tumor is to these key areas . Many people will choose not to operate in fear of losing ability to speak , walk , etc . If the tumor is causing pressure on his brain , they could be doing surgery to remove the tumor . This will reduce some of the side effects he may be experiencing , such as headache , nausea , vomiting or blurred vision . The senator was awake during his surgery . Oftentimes it is that feedback that the patient himself gives that is so crucial : `` squeeze your right hand , Senator ; move your right arm , '' that sort of thing . `` Can you say the following word ... '' That sort of stuff is very crucial . How common is brain cancer ? Gupta : 1.3 percent of all cancers are brain cancers . Twenty thousand cases will be diagnosed in 2008 , according to the American Cancer Society and the National Cancer Institute . Fourteen percent will occur in the parietal lobe , which is where Kennedy 's tumor is located . The majority of cases occur in patients over the age of 55 . How common is it to follow surgery with chemotherapy and radiation ? Gupta : Neurosurgeons agree that malignant gliomas are very resilient to treatment . Sometimes , surgery alone is not enough to cure the cancer , because cells from the tumor get too far into the normal surrounding brain tissue . In this instance , surgery combined with radiation therapy and or chemotherapy is often used . There is very well-established evidence that radiation therapy doubles survival in patients with glioblastoma . If he starts radiation following the surgery , it would typically be five days a week for 30 days .
Bottom Line : In cases such as Kennedy 's , surgery combined with radiation therapy or chemotherapy or both is often used .