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Kentucky and Oregon Cast Votes in Democratic Primary; Two Rescued Alive from China Earthquake; Myanmar in Mourning; Senator Ted Kennedy Diagnosed with Brain Tumor

Aired May 20, 2008 - 13:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: He hid out there. Did he also bury victims there? The digging begins at Charles Manson's Death Valley ranch.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Man, that is a mystery.

Plus, at the polls, in the mail, well, they're voting, they're counting, in Kentucky and also in Oregon.

Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon, live here at the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta.

KEILAR: And I'm Brianna Keilar, in for Kyra Phillips.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Two more states, two more Democratic battlegrounds, and an expected split decision. Voting now underway in the Kentucky primary, where 51 delegates are at stake and Hillary Clinton is heavily favored.

And they've been mailing it in for two weeks now out in Oregon, where Barack Obama is favored to pick up a majority of the 52 delegates. Oregon is the only state where the voting is done completely by mail.

And let's head now to what appears to be Clinton country. Our Jim Acosta is with the CNN Election Express in Frankfurt, Kentucky.

Hi, Jim.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Brianna.

That is right. This is Clinton country. Kentucky expected to go pretty heavily in favor of Hillary Clinton tonight, according to the polls. Not much of a horse race here in Kentucky. She's got a healthy 30-point margin ahead of Barack Obama, according to the latest CNN poll of polls.

Senator Obama expected to do better in Oregon. He -- he is pretty far out in front of the New York Senator by about ten points up there in Oregon.

But the big show will be on stage tonight when both of these candidates take to their respective victory parties and celebrate these split decisions that are happening here in Oregon and Kentucky.

Barack Obama will use the occasion, which will, by the way, be in Des Moines, Iowa, which really got his campaign started. He will use that occasion to essentially say that he has captured a majority of the pledged delegates thus far.

The Clinton campaign is saying, "Hey, not so fast. We've got some numbers of our own here." And to the dismay of some Democrats, Hillary Clinton is claiming that she now has a popular vote lead over Barack Obama. What she does not mention is that that includes the vote tallies, the disputed vote tallies, I should mention, in Florida and Michigan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON (D-NY), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And right now I am leading in the popular vote. More Americans have voted for me. Right now, if you add up the states that I have won, it totals 300 electoral votes. You have to have 270 electoral votes to win.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Now as for Senator Obama, he is brushing aside these comments from Senator Clinton, and he is setting his sights on the presumptive republican nominee, John McCain, and taking aim at the Arizona senator's foreign policy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Iran is the single biggest strategic beneficiary of our war in Iraq. And I believe that if we had, tough direct diplomacy we could contain the threat that Iran poses. We've got to change how our foreign policy works.

That's not what John McCain is delivering, and that's why he can't be in the White House for another four years or another eight years. He's got the wrong idea and the wrong message.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: And both Obama and Clinton are next headed to Florida, which is expected to be a big battleground state in the fall, general election. And you can -- you can bet that Senator Clinton will be bringing up the disputed delegations from Florida and Michigan down there in the Sunshine State.

And speaking of Florida, we should also mention that Bill Clinton, at a campaign stop in Louisville, Kentucky, earlier today, used some pretty strong language, talking about how the Democratic Party should seat those delegations from Michigan and Florida, Brianna. And of course, in Hillary Clinton's favor.

KEILAR: Of course, that issue not resolved. Jim Acosta for us in Kentucky. Thank you. ACOSTA: Not yet.

KEILAR: And Oregon, the other big state that we're watching today, already counting some of the primary ballots. They are ballots actually mailed out to voters on May 2. So they've had about two weeks now to make their choice. They have until 8:00 p.m. Pacific Time -- that's 11 Eastern -- to get them in by mail or to drop them off.

And election officials expect to have more than half of the ballots counted by then. They're taking great pains to make sure the voters are who they say they are.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL BRADBURY, OREGON SECRETARY OF STATE: And I just really want to emphasize: the counties check every signature, not just some signatures. They check every signature on every ballot against that voter's original voter registration signature. It is the most comprehensive fraud protection system in elections in America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Be sure to tune in tonight for complete coverage of the Oregon and Kentucky primaries. You can join the best political team in television for the results and all the analysis live from the "CNN ELECTION CENTER." Our coverage kicks off tonight at 7:00 p.m. Eastern -- Don.

LEMON: And now to the death toll in China, where it appears 40,000 people or more have died in all of this. The aftershocks and all of that is adding fear into the emotional mix in grief and also devastation there.

President Bush and Mrs. Bush this morning, they went to the Chinese embassy. And they signed a sympathy book.

The U.S. is sending more than condolences, though. Part of the $1.3 million in aid includes search and recovery equipment to help dig through that rubble in the hopes of finding some of the tens of thousands of people still missing.

Rescue crews are still finding survivors. Two men -- get this -- were pulled from the rubble today. But stories like theirs are becoming more rare. That's like seven days after this quake hit.

Here's CNN's Kyung Lah.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): More than a week, 170 hours trapped under rubble. State-run television showed rescuers carrying out Peng Guohua, a minor, injured but alive.

Out of the wreckage that was a Yingxiu Bay (ph) hydro power plant, rescuers found another survivor, Ma Yuanjang, a director at the plant. Badly wounded, he was still breathing 179 hours after the quake, his work badge still attached to his shirt, a reminder this deadly earthquake struck in the middle of the workday.

The miraculous survival stories brought fleeting hope, but that is fading with each passing day.

As China's official death toll topped 40,000, residents hit the streets of Chengdu. Thousands slept in the streets as the government predicted strong aftershocks. Survivors are struggling with the basics: food, home, family.

The children of quake-devastated Beichuan Middle School have traded their textbooks for newspapers, searching for friends and family. It's reported that more than 200 of these children have lost at least one parent, and the number of orphans is rising.

Li Ching (ph) can't shake the horror of her school collapsing on her. "I was scared that I would die along with my classmate," says Li. "I was frightened that I would never see my family again."

But on this day, she is. Today is Li's (ph) 16th birthday. The family has somehow managed to get a cake. But they can't stay. The shelter is for injured children, and they're living under a canvas sheet at the stadium.

Across the country, the official mourning continues, China trying to grapple with the number of dead as it tries to treat the living. Donations continue to flood in from all the provinces, in a show of unification.

Back at the Beichuan Middle School shelter, teacher Jian Shao Qi says the focus needs to be on the children's future. "We need to help them change their focus," he says. "If we don't do this, they will just stay in bed and cry all day." Jian's own daughter died in the quake.

His and much of the Sichuan Province's mourning will have to wait. China faces a growing humanitarian crisis as the rescue turns toward recovery.

Kyung Lah, CNN, Hong Kong.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: The seismologists in Sichuan say there is a strong possibility of aftershocks in the province, and people there are taking those warnings very seriously.

You're looking at some 2,000 college students massed on a basketball court, fearful of being inside the buildings. IReporter Josh Fuschetto shot these pictures. He shot them last night. He says his building is OK, but others damaged nearby are not OK. And he tells us whenever someone feels an aftershock, there is a general panic.

If you can come back to me, Scotty (ph). Check this out. This is our CNN.com here. But our IReporters are sending in some amazing pictures and video here. If you go to the bottom; this is our China page here.

Let's see. People flee homes during the quake. This video is unbelievable. And you can see people, once it comes up, running out of a stairwell and what have you. So that's our IReporters.

Go to CNN.com/iReport or just go to iReport.com, and you can file your very own IReport, and we may put it on the air. And it will definitely be on our Web site.

Let's turn now to Myanmar. Mourning in Myanmar. Its ruling military leaders, well, they have ordered flags lowered to half staff three days -- for three days. Our correspondent on the ground there says that's about the only sign of a society in mourning more than two weeks after Cyclone Nargis hit.

Well, the government there estimates 134,000 people are dead or missing and many who survived the storm are simply trying to make it through, just to make it through another day. In a lot of areas, though, relief supplies are few and far between.

U.N. General Secretary Ban Ki-Moon is hoping to ease their suffering. And our correspondent on the ground says he's expected to arrive in Myanmar tomorrow.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's really his most important mission that he will have here in this country, is to try and get aid workers, professional aid workers from the U.N. but also from other international organizations, into this country.

And just to give you an indication of how pressed that issue is, the one thing they really need in the disaster areas hardest hit by the storm is the professional distribution system of the aid that's getting in here.

There is some aid coming into the area, but it only goes to the larger towns in that area. And it's then just simply not distributed to the people who really need it in those far away, in those rural areas.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: All right. Let's go back to Brianna Keilar. That's our correspondent on the ground in Myanmar -- Brianna.

KEILAR: Don, we have some breaking news into the CNN NEWSROOM, the Associated Press reporting that Senator Ted Kennedy has a brain tumor.

You probably recall that Senator Kennedy suffered a seizure over the weekend, on Saturday. He was taken to a hospital in Massachusetts, Massachusetts General Hospital. And actually, I just want to let you know that CNN has confirmed that Ted Kennedy has a brain tumor.

He was in the hospital over the weekend, still is in the hospital, was undergoing some tests after suffering a seizure. Doctors trying to figure out exactly what caused the seizure. And it now appears that they may know, with this diagnosis that Senator Ted Kennedy has a brain tumor.

LEMON: And Senator Ted Kennedy, of course, one of the senior members of the Democratic Party, of course supporting Barack Obama. But over the weekend, when all of this started happening, Brianna, it was said that he went to the hospital because of stroke-like symptoms. And they were concerned that he may have suffered a stroke.

You're looking at the picture there of him being transported to the hospital from his home, about to be airlifted to a hospital. But it was thought that he may have had a stroke. And they were watching him for that.

And then he started, according to his people and according to the Democratic Party's people, he started to have normal behavior. As you said, he was resting in the hospital, watching movies.

KEILAR: Yes.

LEMON: He had ordered several movies and being normal. But now it appears to be maybe much more serious than that.

KEILAR: Certainly, again, CNN confirming that Senator Ted Kennedy has a brain tumor. So he did suffer a seizure over the weekend.

And -- but he had been spending time in the hospital doing pretty normal things. His family had been visiting. He even, according to his doctor, his primary care physician, had been resting comfortably and watching the Red Sox game with his family.

But he continued to go through evaluations and through tests over the course of the weekend and through yesterday. And now CNN confirming that Senator Ted Kennedy has a brain tumor.

Let's bring in now Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

Sanjay, what can you tell us about this? I mean, at this point all we know is that it is a brain tumor. So I imagine that opens up a myriad of possibilities for what this means.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, absolutely. And I think, you know, as we've been talking about the last few days, any time you have an adult who has a first seizure, you have to be thinking at brain tumors. And this is one of the things that the doctors have probably been sort of trying to diagnose over the last several days.

The MRI scan that we heard he had upon admission to the hospital probably showed that tumor, and then they were talking about doing more things to try and figure out what kind of tumor this is. There are benign tumors, and there are malignant tumors. One of the big goals is going to be to figure out which category this falls into and then the best course of treatment.

I have to tell you, again, based on, you know, the way that seizures often appear in an adult, this is not that surprising. A tumor is something that I'm sure these doctors have been thinking about for some time.

LEMON: Sanjay, if I could -- Sanjay, if I could just jump in here. So you're a neurosurgeon, so this would be right up your alley, something that you would know about.

I want to read the statement from the hospital and from the physician there, and then you can comment on it. Again, we're just getting this. This is from our Candy Crowley at the political unit. And it is a statement from Dr. Lee Schwamm, vice chairman of the Department of Neurology, and Dr. Larry Ronan, primary care physician, Massachusetts General Hospital.

It says -- quote -- Sanjay, "Over the course of the last several days, we've done a series of tests on Senator Kennedy to determine the cause of his seizure. He has had no further seizures, remains in good overall condition and is up and walking around the hospital. Some of the tests we had performed were inconclusive, particularly in light of the fact that the senator had severe narrowing of the left carotid artery and underwent surgery just six months ago. However, preliminary results from a biopsy of the brain identified the cause of the seizure as a malignant glioma" -- hope I'm pronouncing that right, Sanjay -- "in the left partial lobe."

KEILAR: Parietal.

LEMON: "Parietal lobe. The usual course of treatment includes combinations of various forms of radiation and chemotherapy. Decisions regarding the best course of treatment for Senator Kennedy will be determined after further testing and analysis. Senator Kennedy will remain at Massachusetts General Hospital for the next couple of days, according to routine protocol. He remains in good spirits and full of energy."

Again, that's a quote from the doctors. And sorry for the mispronunciations, everybody. It's just coming over, and I'm not a doctor.

Do you want to comment, Sanjay?

GUPTA: Absolutely. You know, so what you've just said is some very important things.

First of all, you remember, Don, back in October he had this operation on the carotid artery that you just mentioned. This is a prophylactic, if you will, preventive operation to try and prevent someone from having a stroke.

What they saw when they started to examine the senator after the seizure was some sort of abnormality on the left side of the brain, specifically as you said, the left parietal lobe. Was that a tumor? Was that a sort of the characteristics of a stroke? They didn't know exactly what it was.

So it sounds like they performed a biopsy, essentially take a little bit of tissue from that area of the brain and look at that under the microscope. Some of this is brand new, as you just mentioned.

But what they found was that this is, in fact, a malignant tumor which is, again, benign, malignant, which is -- again, there are benign tumors. There are malignant tumors. This is a malignant tumor.

And there are different courses of treatment that can be taken at this point. Some of that is going to depend on exactly the boundaries of this tumor. Some of that is going to depend on exactly how these cells react to radiation and chemotherapy. Some of the decision is going to be based on the senator's preference, what he'd like to do now that he has this diagnosis.

But this is something that, obviously, the doctors are going to have to deal with in a relatively expeditious fashion. He's doing well, from what we here. It's not surprising. The seizures are controlled, probably with fairly readily available medication. But how, exactly, you take care of the tumor is something they're going to have to think about, you know, along with the senator and his family over the next couple of days.

LEMON: Sanjay, stand by. We want to get some political analysis on this. But don't go anywhere, because we may be calling in your expertise. Hang on a second.

KEILAR: Let's head now to Bill Schneider, our senior political analyst in New York.

Bill, Kennedy, Senator Kennedy, obviously a big supporter, one of the main proponents of making Barack Obama the nominee. How does this affect the political landscape?

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, of course that was an electrifying moment in January when Senator Kennedy endorsed Barack Obama. It was a shock to Hillary Clinton and her supporters. She was supposed to be the establishment candidate.

Senator Kennedy is the very embodiment of the Democratic Party establishment. He's been in the Senate since 1962. I describe Kennedy, for those of us of a certain age, as the news reel of our lives. He was there for every important political moment.

This is shocking and sad news. The state -- I was in Massachusetts this weekend when he was -- had his seizure, was taken to the hospital. The entire state was apprehensive and subsequently, a bit relieved when they heard that it was not a stroke. But this news is very serious indeed.

I mentioned that he endorsed Barack Obama and then, about a week later, Barack Obama lost the Massachusetts primary to Hillary Clinton. She had the solid support there of working-class and Catholic voters. So Kennedy was unable to deliver Massachusetts, but his endorsement still had a lot of meaning -- meaning to Democrats around the country.

In Washington, you could see people dancing in the streets in Massachusetts Avenue when Kennedy endorsed Obama, and they had that gigantic rally at American University.

KEILAR: So Bill, you were just in Massachusetts. I'm wondering, when people there found out that it was not a stroke, were they concerned? You said they were relieved. Were they fearful that maybe it would be something more? Do you think this catches people by surprise?

SCHNEIDER: Well, I think they -- the word they got from the family was guarded optimism. The family said that they had -- they were guardedly optimistic that he would cover. They weren't sure what it was.

But I heard people talking amongst themselves, asking me -- and I am not a medical expert like Dr. Sanjay -- they asked, well, if it wasn't a stroke, it was a seizure. What exactly is that? What does it mean? And the medical reports kept saying, "We don't know, we have to undertake further tests."

So I think voters there were very worried what it could mean, but they were simply relieved that it had not been a stroke.

KEILAR: Would you expect that Senator Kennedy would be out on the trail if, say, Barack Obama were to be the nominee? Would you expect that he would be a surrogate? Not at this point. I mean, not obviously, considering that he's ill.

SCHNEIDER: No, I would not. Had he been well, had this problem not occurred, I don't think he would have been a major figure on the campaign trail. He played his role. His role was to essentially pass the baton from the Democratic establishment to Barack Obama and say to Democrats all over the country, "We have confidence in this young senator. We believe that he's a good Democrat, that Democrats around the country can vote for him."

As I say, they didn't in Massachusetts. Most did not. But it was a blessing, really, from the tradition -- the grand tradition of the Democratic Party, which Senator Kennedy embodies, among a lot of Democrats who said at that time, in January, "We don't know much about Obama. Is he a real Democrat? Does he believe what we believe?" The only thing they had ever heard was his speech in 2004 at the Democratic convention.

So the blessing from Senator Kennedy played an enormous role. And as I said, it electrified the campaign. But I wouldn't have expected to see Senator Kennedy play a prominent role on the campaign trail. He did his part.

KEILAR: Bill Schneider, our senior political analyst, in New York, thanks. LEMON: OK. We still have Dr. Sanjay Gupta standing by. And as you know, Dr. Sanjay Gupta is a neurosurgeon. So this is exactly something that he would be familiar with.

Sanjay, I want to ask you this. You spoke a little bit about this earlier when we were talking to you. But this type of brain cancer is diagnosed, I'm told, in about 9,000 Americans each year. It's the most common type among adults.

According to the information I'm getting, it's a startling diagnosis, and how well a patient fares depends on what specific tumor type is determined by further testing.

I want to talk to you about treatment here. How might this be treated and how might this inhibited -- inhibit, if at all, Ted Kennedy's ability to work?

GUPTA: Well, it's a good question. And you know, we know that it's a malignant glioma, but as I think you're alluding to, there are several different grades even within that diagnosis.

There is something called a glioblastoma. Not a name you need to remember, but that's the worst type. And then there are malignant glioma that are, if you have to sort of assign a characteristic to it, there are better types.

The types of treatment are somewhat dependent on exactly what type of cancer this is. Oftentimes, surgery is going to be something that's going to be recommended. Chemotherapy and radiation may be recommended for surgery. But it's also the kind of thing, exactly where in the left parietal lobe this is.

A couple, I think, are worth pointing out. This part of the brain is often responsible for a lot of different things. It's responsible -- it could be responsible in part to your ability to speak, to understand speech, as well. It may be responsible for your motor power, strength, if you will, on the right side of your body.

I have not seen the scans obviously, so I can't comment on that specifically. But that's going to be a factor in terms of whether doctors will recommend surgery or not.

LEMON: And Sanjay...

GUPTA: And ultimately whether it's operable or not.

LEMON: Sanjay, you bring up a good point, which kinds of leads me to the next question. I don't, you know -- this is sort of a "what-if" for you, a hypothetical here. But if someone like Ted Kennedy came in to see you, what would be next step for you or for any neurosurgeon who was treating someone like Ted Kennedy?

GUPTA: Well, if this was a tumor that was in an operable location, a place where you could operate without causing more harm, causing an increased neurological deficit, that very likely would be an additional course of action. That would do two things. It would remove a bulk of tumor, provide a lot of tumor to be examined under the microscope, and then allow the person to ultimately start the next course of actions of either chemo or radiation.

Again, as you pointed out, I pointed out, I have not seen his films. I'm hearing this, you know, from the statement from the doctors (ph). So there is not all the information that I would have to be able to recommend any specific course of action.

The doctors there, I'm sure, are thinking about this. And even more than that, this is an area where, you know, lots of different options are available. And the senator and his family are going to probably participant in that, those options.

LEMON: All right. Our chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, who himself is a neurosurgeon.

We appreciate your perspective on this, Sanjay. Thank you.

KEILAR: And we understand from Kennedy representatives, from a doctor at the hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital, that Senator Kennedy will continue to be in the hospital for another couple of days. He's going to do through further testing and analysis before doctors determine exactly what course of action to take in his treatment.

He's still -- so again, he is now at Massachusetts General Hospital. That is where we find Dan Lothian.

Dan, can you update us?

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it remains relatively quiet out here except for all the reporters, really, trying to gather as much information as they can.

But I will point out a couple of things. There has been a lot of suspicions amongst the folks gathered here, as we have been moving into, you know, each day and not getting a whole lot of information from the doctors. People were starting to get a little suspicious that this perhaps was much more serious than the initial appearance of just one seizure.

First of all, the doctors released a statement on Saturday evening, and that's where they talked about the fact that he did not have a stroke, said in fact, that it was just a seizure. And then beyond that, we never heard again from the doctors.

We kept requesting again from the family spokesperson if there was an update at all from doctors. And we got some of the basic color, like he was sitting down and watching television or making phone calls or watching DVDs, those kind of things. But no word from the doctors. So that was -- that was a little suspicious.

And also we had some conversations with medical doctors. And they pointed out that, typically, when someone who doesn't have a history of having seizures, has one seizure and comes into the hospital, they do sort of the initial battery of test, they're typically released and are not even held overnight.

Again, the way we sort of were justifying this is that this was a Kennedy and they wanted to be extra careful. This was also someone who had a past medical history, had just been -- undergone a procedure here, in fact, in October. So those two things gave some people a lot of pause and started people -- started to get people talking that perhaps this was a serious situation for Senator Kennedy.

KEILAR: Dan, take us through the progression of events, starting from Saturday when the senator first came to the hospital.

LOTHIAN: That's right. The 9-1-1 -- 9-1-1 call was made around 8:19 in the morning. The senator was down on the cape, at his residence down there in Hyannisport.

The ambulances went and picked him up at his -- the time compound there, then took him to Cape Cod Hospital. He was held there for a while and then airlifted to this hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital, here in Boston. And the thinking at the time was that perhaps, whatever the situation was, whatever their concerns were as to his illness, the hospital down in Cape Cod perhaps was not capable of handling the situation. So he was brought here.

After he was brought in, we didn't get a lot in terms of updates on his medical condition. And then Saturday evening was when we got that statement from the doctor. It wasn't a long statement, but it essentially said that -- it confirmed that it was not a stroke, in fact, that it was a seizure and that they were conducting virtuous tests that would be many different evaluations to figure out exactly what caused the seizure and then how they should move forward in terms of treating it.

And again, going back to what I said earlier, beyond that we never got any other information, at least medical information from the doctor. We got word from the spokesperson that he was sitting up or word that he was walking around or that he had a good night's sleep. He was resting comfortably. But we did not get any additional information.

Now, throughout this whole time we would see family members going and coming. Today his wife, Vicki, arrived about 6:15 in the morning. We did not get a shot of her, but we were told she did arrive around 6:15 in the morning. And then we saw his two sons, Patrick and then Ted Jr., also arrive later in the morning. We haven't seen any other family members arrive here. But we do know that his wife, Vicki, is in the hospital with him now -- Brianna.

KEILAR: How did his -- how did his sons appear to be in terms of their mood, Dan, when they arrived today?

LOTHIAN: It was pretty much like usual. They pulled into another area here, not here behind me. But there's another section of the hospital. We call it sort of the VIP section. It has a ramp that pulls up to the front door. Someone else was driving the vehicle, and they came out. They didn't appear to be in a rush or anything, running inside. It was a typical arrival of the hospital that we've seen from the other family members.

They had a backpack or a bag or, you know, some sort of shopping bag and would come out, walk inside. And -- and then the person who was driving them would take off.

In this particular case, though, it was interesting. The person who brought Patrick did not leave. It was a small SUV vehicle: dropped him off and then stayed there. And you know, we were sort of expecting, well, perhaps, you know, he's feeling better and maybe he was going to be leaving, and so they wanted to, you know -- he wasn't going to be spending a whole lot of time there.

But of course, now we know the whole story. And we have not seen any additional family members arrive here. It's possible that they could have arrived and gone through a different entrance, but we have not seen any additional family members here.

KEILAR: Dan Lothian at Massachusetts General Hospital, where Senator Kennedy is staying right now. We'll get back to you as you get more information from the hospital.

Let's now get some medical perspective on this.

LEMON: Yes, let's -- we're going to talk about survival and treatment of a brain tumor, specifically this malignant glioma. Let's bring in now our medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, to talk to us about -- we want to talk about survival and treatment in all of this.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Right. And both of those things depend on a whole array of factors. Survival for this kind of brain tumor we now know that Senator Kennedy has, called a glioma, depends upon where it is in the brain and on the type of glioma. We haven't been told the type. We have been told the location.

If you take a look at the model of the brain next to me, it's in the left parietal lobe, which is sort of the area that you can see in between my fingers. It's in that area.

The treatment that's given for these gliomas is often a combination of surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. And what they do with the surgery is they're trying to get in and get those cancerous cells while leaving as many healthy cells as possible.

So where exactly it is in the brain is really, really crucial. Because when they go in there, they -- it's not like removing a tumor, say, from a breast. You can just cut off the whole breast. Obviously when you're going into the brain, you're trying to get as much of that cancer as you can, specifically without getting any of the healthy tissue.

LEMON: OK, you said where it is in the brain, but also I would imagine it has to do also prior health history, how strong he might be and that sort of thing. And also, you know, your sense of mind and being. All of those factor into this.

COHEN: Oh sure, all of those play a role. I mean, for example -- this is unfortunate -- but a friend of mine who is my age has a glioma, and her prognosis is really much better than someone who is older, because she's young, and she's otherwise healthy and she can fight it. So the age and the person's state of health, and as Don says, state of mind always matters in health, also play a role in the survival time, how long a person has to live and in the kind of treatments they get.

And the treatment goes on for quite a while. I mean, you have in the beginning the surgery. Sometimes there's more than one surgery. Sometimes a shunt is put into the brain to relieve any swelling. Sometimes the patient is put on steroids. Sometimes anticonvulsants, which are used to control seizures, as we know that the senator had. And this can go on for a while, the chemotherapy, the radiation. It's a marathon; it's not a sprint.

And I just looking at some of the notes here from your team and also from some of the research that we did. You've got to cut, obviously, some bone in the skull to get to the brain, known as, what is that, craniotomy, right? And then also there's computer-assisted brain surgery as well in all of this. Radiation, they say, is usually done after. That's usually done after you go in.

COHEN: Right, surgery is usually the first thing that you do. You go in and you get what you can. And then the radiation and the chemotherapy get what's left over. That's the aim, is that they try to get what the surgery could not get, because it would have damaged the patient's brain to go in there and surgically do it.

LEMON: All right. Obviously something, anything that has to do with cancer, especially brain cancer or brain tumor, I should say, very serious here, very serious here.

So again, we're talking about his past health history. We know he's had some bouts with health according to his doctor at the clinic. He talked about some previous history with his health.

If you're treating someone like this, there's not much you can do in order to make them healthy. You want to get at this quickly and then work on that part on the other end, I would imagine.

LEMON: Right. You get at this quickly, and they have addressed his other health concerns. In October Sanjay Gupta was just talking about this, that they went into his carotid artery -- that's the artery that's along the neck -- and cleared it out. It had become -- there was too much plaque in there and they were worried about blood flow to his brain. And that's why on Saturday the first thought from the Kennedy family was perhaps there had been a stroke, because they were probably prepared for that, because he had just had surgery to prevent a stroke. And seizures can be a sign of a stroke. But what they did at Mass General they do MRIs, they do other tests, and they say, you know what, this isn't a stroke, this is a brain tumor.

LEMON: OK. Medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen. Very interesting, very thorough. Thank you very much.

KEILAR: Senator Kennedy, of course, Democratic party elder, a member of one of the most influential political families in the United States. And this news is especially reverberating throughout Washington. That's where we find Ed Henry. He is at the White House.

Any reaction there, Ed?

ED HENRY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Brianna, we're getting the first reaction on CNN to the president being briefed at 1:20 p.m. today by his staff about Senator Kennedy's condition.

A statement from Dana Perino, "The president was deeply saddened and will keep Senator Kennedy in his prayers."

Told as well there will be a written statement from the president himself shortly. Significant of course that Mr. Bush yesterday placed a phone call -- he just gotten back from a very long trip to the Mideast as this broke over the weekend. His first opportunity to connect by phone on Monday with Vicki Kennedy, the senator's wife, and they spoke. And the president basically said he had the senator in his prayers then as well.

And the significance here is that you could not find two bigger political warriors on opposite sides of just about every issue, especially the Iraq war. Senator Kennedy has been a vehement critic of the policy in Iraq.

But for the most part, this has never really gotten personal. These two people have respect for each other. President Bush knows full well that he never would have gotten one of his signature pieces of his agenda, the No Child Left Behind education reform law the president signed the beginning of his first term, never would have gotten that without Senator Kennedy able to come over to this White House, reach across the aisle. We've heard that so many times during his career, more than 40 years in the Senate, that some of the biggest reform pieces of legislation out there either for Democratic or Republican presidents, has had the Kennedy name on it.

He's reached across the aisle not just with President Bush, many, many Republicans like John McCain, Orrin Hatch, the list goes on and on. And Every major piece of social legislation that has passed in this country in the last 40, 45 years has had Ted Kennedy's name on it, whether it's education, health care, and that's why you're seeing this big reaction from President Bush. Again, these two politicians disagree on just about every policy issue but this is greet, deep respect between these two men.

KEILAR: Two political warriors, as you said, very much opposed, perhaps, on many issues. But there is also -- you worked on the Hill covering the Hill as well, Ed. There's a certain degree of decorum when it comes to a situation like this and politics get set aside a bit, don't they?

HENRY: Absolutely. I think most Americans, people around the world watching debates today would think that there's not much decorum, because there's so much yelling and shouting on the House and Senate floors sometimes.

But Yes, in the cloakrooms, over at the White House when they have meetings, when the cameras are not there, there is a deep respect for the most part, not everywhere, but for the most part, among these people on both sides of the aisle who put themselves out there into public service, put themselves into the spotlight. President Bush, Senator Kennedy, two people, again, coming from two opposite sides of it. But they have the respect for that -- again, let's look at the fact that there are two political dynasties as well -- the Kennedys and Bushes. It's not just this president who has known Ted Kennedy as well. Bush 41, the former President Bush, also worked closely with Ted Kennedy on any number of issues.

So yes, there's a deep respect there that you normally wouldn't get from the daily headline when they're fighting over Iraq, or health care or tax cut. But the fact of the matter is, this is something that hits this White House closely -- the initial reaction from White House aides is they sound just as saddened as some of the Democratic staffers in the last few moments that I talked to on Capitol Hill. Despite all these political battles, I can there's a lot of sadness in this White House behind me -- Brianna.

KEILAR: So I know that you've spoken, as you just said, with some people on Capitol Hill, Democrats in particular. What is the mood there? Are they saddened, are they optimistic, or are they just lacking information to really know how to feel?

HENRY: I think it's a combination of all three of things. And the brief conversations I've had, Democrats are hopeful that they can look for the best here. They know that Senator Kennedy is a fighter. He's battled other medical problems before, for many years. But when they get this initial bit of news, I heard shock from people, because obviously over the weekend the initial reports, it's been sort of a roller coaster. Started out as, maybe potentially he had a stroke. Then it was like, well, no, it was stroke-like symptoms -- it was just a seizure.

But you remember on Saturday the doctors were saying we have at least 48 more hours of evaluation. And we all said at the time, you never know what's around the corner. And so I think now a lot of people, Democrats in recent days have been talking to, very optimistic, very hopeful that what they heard over the weekend was relatively good news. And then now they're hit with this punch. And so what I have heard for the most part is shock. Though still optimism, a lot of shock right now -- Brianna.

KEILAR: Ed Henry for us at the White House, thanks -- Don.

LEMON: And as Ed Henry just said moments ago, the White House is responding to this White House secretary -- or spokesman, I should say. Dana Perino said, the president is deeply saddened and would keep Senator Kennedy in his prayers.

Just moments ago our Boston affiliate, WHDH, filed a report about what happened exactly what happened with Ted Kennedy. And here is how our affiliate is reporting this just moments ago. Take a look. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VICTORIA BLOCK, WHDH REPORTER: All we know at this point is that they're going to discussing what course of action they're going to be taking I mean, these kinds of tumors, they can be treated with radiation, with chemotherapy, the combination of both, depending on the severity of the cancer. We know it is a malignant tumor, which can be fast-growing. It is in his brain.

At this point it's in the central nervous system, basically. That's where the glioma is. And it's surrounding the tissues in the central nervous system. We don't know how extensive it is right now. And again, it's still not clear to us, according to the doctors. They've just released basic information. We don't know how difficult it is to get to this tumor, and if they're going to be able to get it all because they may cause damage to other parts of the brain if they try to get at this specific tumor.

So right now all we know is that he is hospitalized and he's been up and walking around. He's been surrounded by his family members. He was med-flighted here on Saturday from Cape Cod Hospital after a seizure at his home. And he's 76-years-old.

According to the Mayo Clinic, they say that a tumor is just a mass or a growth of abnormal cells found in the brain. And they're typically categorized as primary or secondary gliomas. Start in the brain or the spinal cord tissue, and they can spread in the nervous system. They don't spread outside the nervous system. And about 17,000 Americans are diagnosed with brain tumors.

They can be challenging to treat but many are treated successfully. They have a lot of new technology that can be treated. But again, it's unclear. A lot of times when you have seizure and then you find something, it could have spread very quickly and, you know, the symptoms was late in coming.

We don't know how severe the brain tumor is or how fast it has spread at this point. But it is a very serious diagnosis. His family is with him. The doctors say that Senator Kennedy is going to be here for the next couple of days. That's just a matter of protocol. They did do a biopsy on his brain, according to the release that was just issued a few minutes ago. And that is where they say they found the malignancy.

So that's as much as we know right now. But we were starting to get a sense that because they had not released him yet, and they kept stalling and saying we'll have information later, maybe later today, they were waiting for something, they were waiting for the information. They started testing him on Saturday when they brought him in here. They had Sunday -- Saturday, Sunday and Monday. And here it is Tuesday. So, they've been working around the clock on this, you can bet. And this is what they have diagnosed him with at this point -- is a glioma, a malignant tumor in the brain.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And, Vicki let me just ask you. What is the mood around there? I know there's a pile of satellite trucks outside the hospital that have been there since Saturday. I know there are reporters, both local and national, there. Is everyone there as shocked as perhaps the viewers may be this afternoon, hearing this news? Or were you getting a sense that there was bad news that was headed our way?

BLOCK: Well I think when you get this kind of diagnosis on such a public figure, and Senator Kennedy who just comes from, you know, a royal family here in the United States, and he's seen that way around the world, really, and one of the last of the brothers, Robert Kennedy, John Kennedy, and now Ted Kennedy. When you think of it, you know, you just think of them as such a family that will live forever.

And there's always some presence of the Kennedys through Senator Ted Kennedy. So when you think that there's such a serious diagnosis like this, you know, it really shatters a lot of people when they think about what will happen or what could happen.

I mean, he's a strong guy. He has survived an awful lot. It's hard to say how challenging it's going to be for him to deal with this. I mean clearly, he has family support and he has terrific medical help. You know, how strong is he to be able to pull through something like this? It's going to be a long and grueling road for him.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are family members there this afternoon?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: And that report from WHDH's, Vicki Block.

Our affiliate there in Boston, Massachusetts, reporting moments ago on the medical condition facing Senator Ted Kennedy.

We'd like to welcome our international viewers from around the world. And if you're just tuning in, you're watching CNN NEWSROOM here in the U.S. with Don Lemon and Brianna Keilar.

And we are reporting today that Senator Ted Kennedy has a malignant brain tumor. Just moments ago doctors from the hospital where Ted Kennedy was admitted to on Saturday, are reporting that they took a biopsy of his brain and that biopsy shows that he has a malignant brain tumor. They're considering what possibility -- what to do with him next. Should there be surgery or how to treat this brain tumor.

He suffered a seizure on Saturday and helicoptered to a hospital from his home in Cape Cod, Massachusetts. So he is in the hospital now. The hospital releasing that statement just moments ago. And you're looking at our coverage there from our Boston affiliate, just moments ago.

Of course, what repercussions will this have on his health around also on the election here in the United States? As you know, Ted Kennedy is a supporter of Barack Obama and just a few weeks ago, announced his support of the Illinois senator and the Illinois senator's run for president. Ted Kennedy now in the hospital and is said to be resting comfortably. His family surrounding him as well. Over the weekend, when he was brought into the hospital there was some concern that his health may be weakening. But then we were told that he was watching a Red Sox game with his family. Would be in the hospital, watching movies as well and eating. And he was resting comfortably. And then today, of course at about 1:10 Eastern time, in the United States, we get word from the hospital that Ted Kennedy indeed, has a brain tumor.

We're following this developing story throughout the day right here in the CNN NEWSROOM -- Brianna.

KEILAR: Let's talk now with Candy Crowley, she's on the phone, I believe, with us from Louisville, Kentucky, where of course, she's covering the primary under way there today.

Candy, talk to us about the political ramifications here.

VOICE OF CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SR. POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, obviously this is a senior statesman in the Democratic party. He is the second longest-serving member of the Senate. And he's an icon, he's a liberal icon. And he comes from a platinum name in politics.

He's the youngest brother of John Kennedy and Bobby Kennedy. Politically, you know, I'm not sure at this point anybody's even looking at that. I mean, this is not good news, clearly. But from what we can tell from the hospital reports, he's watching baseball games, as you mentioned, and talking with his family. Nonetheless, he is a powerful, powerful figure in the Democratic party, probably the most effective legislator of the past century really.

There are very few at this point that could match Kennedy's record on a number of things: Health care, minimum wage, he's given credit for pushing so many of those things through the Senate. So again, he is -- his record is very clear, but I'm sure right now what most people in the Senate who know him very, very well because he's been there so long and they do look to him for advice, are looking at sort of the personal aspect of this.

But I will tell you that it's also -- it's not just Democrats; it's Republicans because Kennedy also has a reputation of working for compromise. Has always said, listen, I'd rather get something than nothing. So he has a reputation for that. So this is something that will hit both the Democrats as well as the Republicans.

KEILAR: So as you said, Candy, he's a very powerful senior statesman. Tell us exactly, how does he exact his influence on Capital Hill and in Washington, in general?

CROWLEY: Well you know, in general, he is a dominant figure in Washington. First again, because of his name, but also because of his reputation in the Senate for getting things done. You know, we just got a statement from John McCain about Teddy Kennedy.

They of course, have worked together on so much legislation. And he says, "I have described Ted Kennedy as the last lion in the Senate and I have held that view because he remains the single most effective of the Senate." Recalling of course, that that's a Republican talking, John McCain.

So that's really a very widely-held view of Teddy Kennedy. That he is enormously effective in getting legislation passed and reaching across the aisle and doing major things that have effected the lives of Americans.

KEILAR: And as he concentrates on his personal health, we've talked about some of the different things the doctors may be considering here: Radiation, chemotherapy, he'll obviously be spending a lot of time just concentrating on his person health. Not really being able to do the peoples' work. I'm wondering what kind of void will that leave on Capital Hill during this time?

CROWLEY: Well I'm sure -- obviously we don't know if he will be able to return to the Senate. That's something obviously that the doctors and he will work out. But again, as a leader, as someone who people turn to, especially when they want to get things done. Remember that when George Bush, although this has since fallen into disfavor, when he wanted the No Child Left Behind, a major piece of education legislation, it was Teddy Kennedy who worked with George Bush.

The two couldn't be more diametrically opposed on most things. But it was Teddy Kennedy who reached out. So it's not just that he has this platinum name, not just that he is a liberal senator. But also, one who in the Senate, was looked to when in fact they wanted to push things through. And even when they didn't, he was out there talking.

We're learning from our, Ted Barrett, who says that Democrats and Republicans today, were in their weekly closed policy lunches in the Capital when the news broke.

Senator Reid, the majority leader, a Democrat, announced the news to his Democratic colleagues. And one of the senators that Ted talked to, said the wind was just taken out of the room and there this stunned silence.

LEMON: Hey, Candy?

CROWLEY: Yes?

LEMON: Hold that thought because I want to talk to you about that. And just as you said, both Democrats and Republicans, in a weekly luncheon here.

We're getting some response from John McCain, who is a Republican presumptive nominee for president here. And I want to read to you what John McCain has put out.

He says, "Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and to him. We hope and pray that they will be able to treat it and that he will experience a full recovery. I have described Ted Kennedy as the last lion in the Senate and I have held that view because he remains the single, most effective member of the Senate."

So, obviously this is not partisan politics here, Candy.

But let's get back to what you were talking about. Because you -- he's saying that Ted Kennedy is the last lion, here in the Senate.

Over the years, Ted Kennedy has championed social issues such as health care, family leave, minimum wage. And some of his most notable legislation: The Civil Rights Act of 1964, Voting Rights Act of 1965. Kennedy's Hatch Law 1997, 1990, Americans with Disabilities Act 1993, Family and Medical Leave Act, and two increases in minimum wage. So in many ways he has been a champion for the people. And he is, as John McCain said, one of the last lions in the Senate.

CROWLEY: Well, absolutely. And that's something that is being echoed up on Capitol Hill. As I told you, our appruser (ph), Ted Barrett, has been up there and seen people. He talked about Senator John Kerry, who obviously is Kennedy's colleague from Massachusetts. Ted described him as looking drained, nodded yes when he said he had spoken to the Kennedy family.

Dick Durbin from Illinois, close friend of Teddy Kennedy's, just told a reporter, "I can't say anything," and went back to the lunch. Ted Conrad, Democrat from North Dakota, said, look, if anyone can overcome this illness, Ted Kennedy can do this because, "Look what he's been through in his life." Frank Lottenberg, a Democrat from New Jersey, "Ted Kennedy makes the Senate the place that it is and has for so many years."

So clearly, across both sides, this is a stunner for them and they're hoping for the best as we know everybody around Ted Kennedy is.

LEMON: Candy Crowley, our senior political correspondent.

Candy, everything you said, very well put. We thank you so much for that. And hang on, stand by. The producers will let you know if we want to continue on with Candy, here.

But we want to remind our viewers here as to exactly what's going on.

You are seeing all this video of Ted Kennedy here. And but of course, we know that Ted Kennedy has had some health problems. And over the weekend had to be rushed to a hospital. He was rushed to Massachusetts General hospital. And we are learning now that he has a brain tumor and it is a malignant brain tumor, which is not good news, not good news there. But again, a statement from the hospital, from Massachusetts General, saying they are treating him for a malignant glioma on the left parietal lobe.

And we have been talking to our Sanjay Gupta, who is a neurosurgeon, about treatment and about surviving this, as well as our medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen.

They are both standing by to give us an update after we start to process this story and get more information about it. The political ramifications, we're not sure.

And as Candy said, we're not sure if anyone is thinking about that today -- Brianna.

KEILAR: And actually we have Dr. Sanjay Gupta on the phone now.

So Sanjay, again, the hospital, or Ted Kennedy's doctors saying malignant glioma in the left parietal lobe. We've talked about surgery as a possible first step. But here in -- at least the official press release, it says, the usual course of treatment includes combinations of various forms of radiation and chemotherapy.

Can you treat something like this without surgery? Is that -- that is normally a first step?

GUPTA: Well, one of the things to consider here, and I'm sure the doctors obviously have thought about this a great deal, is exactly where is this tumor located and can it be removed surgically in some way without causing more harm. And this is something that is based on the anatomy of the tumor, with respect to the rest of the brain.

If it cannot be removed and just a biopsy can be performed, then that's absolutely right. You would use probably a combination of chemotherapy and radiation to try and treat this. It is a pretty resilient tumor to treat. So it can be difficult, for sure, which is why surgery is -- can be a good option if the tumor is operable in the first place.

KEILAR: So talk to us about -- we're looking at a picture now of the parietal lobes. We can see where exactly we're talking about in the brain.

What does the parietal lobe do?

GUPTA: Well, there's several different things. On the left side of the brain versus the right side. My guess is, especially if the senator is right-handed, some of the areas of speech may be in this area of where the tumor is located. Now I know that he's been talking with people, apparently been understanding people, so it doesn't sound like his either speech reception or speech expression has been effected. So that might be a good thing.

Often this particular area, the motor strength, or the power if you will, for the right side of the body, is also located. And I don't know if he's had any trouble specifically with weakness or numbness or anything on the right side of his body. But those are some of the larger activities that may emanate from this side of the brain.

KEILAR: OK, so we're talking an area of the brain that effects speech expression. So if you were to talk or, if Sanjay, you were to say something to me and I was trying to understand what you were saying, sort of speech reception, what is the harm here if you are going to do surgery that you could affect some of the skills controlled by the parietal lobe? GUPTA: Yes, that's right, Brianna. When you're thinking about these sort of operations, you've got to sort of figure out if those areas of the brain will be harmed by that operation. Might you create a situation where speech is effected either, again, as you said, where someone's able to speak or write, or someone's able to understand either the written word or the spoken word. Might that be affected by that sort of operation.

And also again, the strength on the right side of the body lies in this general area as well. I haven't seen the scans, you haven't seen them. We're looking at sort of a bigger picture of the left parietal lobe. I don't know how big this tumor is or exactly what part of the parietal lobe it's located in. But all those things are obviously important factors when determining the next coast of action.

KEILAR: And speaking of which, Sanjay, the hospital says they're going to keep Senator Kennedy for further testing and analysis so then they can determine exactly what the best course of action is.

What they might be doing to figure that out?

GUPTA: Well, there's a few things. It's a good question. They obviously have made the diagnosis now with a brain biopsy where they've actually taken some cells from this tumor and made the diagnosis, this is a malignant tumor. Probably over the next few days they may figure out exactly what stage this tumor is in. So, malignant but even when you call it malignant, there are several stages within malignant tumors.

Also this idea that what important structures sort of, are around the brain. You know, we talked about the fact that speech and strength are in that area. But you can actually do a test known as a functional MRI scan and really pinpoint -- is this tumor sort of in that area? Or a little further back, a little further forward than those areas? And that's going to help if they are thinking about any kind of specific treatments.

KEILAR: Senator Kennedy had a seizure on Saturday. That was the first indication that something was wrong here, Sanjay.

Is that really the normal first sign of a tumor like this?

GUPTA: This may be a surprise to a lot of people, but in fact it is a very common sort of first sign of a brain tumor, especially in an adult. If a kid, for example, a young child has a seizure, there's really a whole host of different things that can cause that including fevers, including problems with sodium, for example. Those things can cause seizures in adults as well.

But you know, as neurosurgeons, neurologists, we're trained that if someone has a seizure sort of out of the blue, after no identifiable reason, then we have to think, we have to worry at least about a brain tumor and make sure that is ruled out, if you will. You got to rule out bad things first. That's probably what prompted a scan, most likely an MRI scan of his brain, and that showed what we're talking about now. KEILAR: So this is a malignant brain tumor. And even the lay person knows when they hear that word, that's not a word you want to hear.

But we don't, Sanjay, know how aggressive the growth of the tumor is.

What are the possibilities here?

GUPTA: Well, you're right. I mean, so you sort of divide this, in terms of decision trees, from malignant and benign. Benign is a word you'd rather hear, as you said, Brianna.

When you talk about malignant, there are a few different grades if you will. Grades one through four, four being the worst and something that some people may have heard of before, known as a glioblastoma. Again you don't need to remember that name, but that is a very fast growing tumor. That is something that can grow in several months.

While it doesn't mean that doctors necessarily need to start chemotherapy right away, it means this is a very urgent, sort of, situation. And there are lower risk malignant gliomas as well, this type of tumor. But even those you know, are some that can be problematic and need to be treated rather urgently.

The word glioma itself typically means that this tumor is coming from the brain, as opposed to coming from somewhere else in the body and having spread to the brain. This is what is known as a primary brain tumor, made of brain cells that have gone awry.

KEILAR: You are a neurosurgeon, Sanjay.

And I'm just wondering, when is surgery -- obviously surgery is really a first option here unless perhaps the cells are so entrenched in the brain that there would be more harm than good done, in operating.

How often is surgery not a possibility? And if we hear that he's not having surgery, is that of particular concern?

GUPTA: Well, I don't think so. I mean, you know, it's fair to say that I think even within the world of neurosurgery there's a little bit of discussion that still exists about whether surgery should be a first-line option for a very malignant brain tumor.

If in fact this tumor is very malignant. I don't think I'd read into too much that they are not planning surgery. It could very well have to do with exactly where this tumor is located. There are tumors that's are -- you've heard the word inoperable. There are tumors -- what that basically means is that, while you could operate, you're more likely to cause more harm than you should, or than is worth it. And therefore it's sort of deemed inoperable.

So again, I have not looked at the scans. Sort of just commenting in general about his care, but this could be in a location where doctors say, you know what? We just don't think we can take this -- remove this tumor without causing some sort of neurological deficit to the senator, and we'd rather go with the chemotherapy and radiation route.

KEILAR: OK. Dr. Sanjay Gupta for us.

Thanks so much. We'll continue to check in with you here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

GUPTA: Sure. Thank you.