Kennedy returns to Cape Cod after brain surgery

BOSTON — Sen. Edward M. Kennedy said it was "good to be home" after flying back to Massachusetts on Monday, one week after undergoing an aggressive and delicate surgery to treat a cancerous brain tumor.

Kennedy left the Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C., on Monday morning and arrived at his family's compound in Hyannis Port on Cape Cod just before noon.

Kennedy, his white hair visible under a beige, wide-brimmed hat, told reporters waiting outside his home it was "good to be home, good to be here."

When asked how he was feeling, he said, "Glad to be home, I'll tell ya."

The Massachusetts Democrat was diagnosed last month with a malignant glioma, a lethal type of brain tumor, after having a seizure. A malignant glioma is one of the worst kinds of brain cancer, and malignant gliomas are diagnosed in about 9,000 Americans a year.

"His doctors are pleased with his progress since surgery a week ago, and he will continue to recuperate at home before starting the next phase of his treatment," Kennedy's office said in a statement. "He is thankful for the extraordinary care of the doctors and nurses at Duke, and also for the continued prayers and well wishes from the people of Massachusetts and all over the country."

Kennedy, 76, underwent the risky, 3 1/2-hour surgery last Monday to remove as much of the tumor as possible, a procedure aimed at improving the success of chemotherapy and radiation. His surgeon at Duke, Dr. Allan Friedman, said Monday that Kennedy "is making an excellent recovery."

"He will continue his recuperation at home in Massachusetts under the supervision of the very capable doctors at the Massachusetts General Hospital," Friedman said in a statement.

Kennedy's son, Rep. Patrick Kennedy, D-R.I., said he planned to have dinner with his father Monday night.

"My dad's doing great," the younger Kennedy said Monday after an appearance at Brown University. "He's benefited enormously from the surgery he received and he's on his way home, and we're so fortunate that, you know, he's going back to the place that he loves. ... Always makes him feel great being near the ocean."

Patrick Kennedy told the Providence Journal on Sunday his father was looking forward to returning to the Senate and working with Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama on universal health care legislation should the Illinois senator win the White House.