Threatening - Kennedy tumour life

AT LEAST one of his Senate colleagues was moved to tears, and the presidential hopeful Barack Obama declared himself shattered at the news that Edward Kennedy's seizure last week resulted from a malignant brain tumour.

The President, George Bush, said he would pray for the long-serving Democratic senator, who has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer.

Doctors at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston have yet to decide how they will treat the Kennedy family patriarch, who was said to be in good spirits despite the diagnosis.

Ashen-faced Democrat leaders appeared unprepared for the diagnosis, and Senator Obama described the news as heart-breaking. "Obviously we are all shattered by the news today," he told CNN.

"I think you can argue I would not be sitting here as a presidential candidate had it not been for some of the battles that Ted Kennedy has fought.

"Not only has he been one of my most important supporters … but he is somebody who battled for voting rights and civil rights when I was a child. I stand on his shoulders."

The only senator to have served longer than Senator Kennedy, Robert Byrd, broke down when paying tribute to him on Tuesday.

Doctors identified the tumour as a glioma. The US Society for Neuroscience said that most people diagnosed with a glioma died within 18 months.

Senator Kennedy, 76, collapsed at the family compound in Hyannisport last Saturday. He has shepherded his family through numerous tragedies, beginning with the assassination of his eldest brother, president John Kennedy, in 1963.

He became the family patriarch after his second brother, Bobby, was assassinated in 1968 while running for the presidency. In 1999, John Kennedy's son, John jnr, 38, and his wife, Carolyn, died when a plane piloted by John jnr crashed into the ocean off Massachusetts.

Doctors are expected to begin treating the senator with chemotherapy and radiation.

The President said that he was saddened by the news. "Ted Kennedy is a man of tremendous courage, remarkable strength and powerful spirit," he said. "Our thoughts are with Senator Kennedy and his family during this difficult period."

Senator Obama's rival, Hillary Clinton, said Senator Kennedy was "one of the greatest leaders in our party's history, and one of the most effective senators in our country's history".

She said his career was devoted to improving the lives of millions of Americans as a lifelong champion of social justice.