WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Edward Kennedy’s office says the senior lawmaker is recuperating well following surgery on a cancerous brain tumor.The senator’s office issued a statement Tuesday saying the 76-year-old is experiencing no complications a day after he underwent 3.5 hours of surgery.

It says Kennedy has been walking the hallways at the Duke Medical Center hospital in North Carolina where the operation took place and spending time with his family.

Earlier, Doctor Allan Friedman issued a statement saying the surgery “accomplished our goals.”

Kennedy, a leading liberal voice in U.S. politics, was diagnosed with a malignant glioma brain cancer two weeks ago after having a seizure at his home.

The senator is expected to be in the hospital for about a week, then return to his home in Massachusetts to begin radiation treatment and chemotherapy.

Medical experts say this type of cancer is particularly serious, and half the people diagnosed with it die within a year.

Kennedy was first elected to the Senate in 1962. He is the youngest and last surviving brother of the late President John F. Kennedy, who was assassinated in 1963. Another brother, Senator Robert Kennedy, was shot and killed in 1968 while campaigning for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination. The eldest brother, Joseph Kennedy, died while serving in World War II.

The Kennedys are one of the nation’s most famous political families.

Presidential hopeful Democratic Senator Barack Obama, an African American, has said he might not have reached his position if Senator Edward Kennedy had not fought for race equality and other social issues throughout his long career.

Senator Kennedy has been campaigning on Obama’s behalf.

Senator Hillary Clinton, a Democrat also vying for the presidency, has said Kennedy’s courage and resolve are unmatched.

The likely Republican Party presidential nominee, Senator John McCain, has called Kennedy “the single most effective member of the Senate.”

Source:  VOA News