I can't imagine having to deal with this under the glare of media scrutiny. Perhaps it is just me, but I needed a lot of space and had a deep desire to be left alone as I put things into perspective when my mother became ill with an equally frightening illness. I just hope that there will be some respect forthat space by everyone - as well meaning as they may be - to curb both curiosity and the desire to "report" health updates and prognosis.

This is a good opportunity to share new developments at the University of Alberta for the treatment of malignant tumors that subvert the regular aerobic cycle for energy (most tumors come to use anaerobic energy eventually). A non-patentable molecule called DCA (dichloroacetic acid) may be the cure for malignant growths for virtually all types of cancer; it specifically targets and shrink tumor cells by shutting down their ability to use lactic acid as an energy source to grow (http://www.depmed.ualberta.ca/dca/). They have been enrolling people with untreatable brain tumors since this molecule can pass through the blood-brain barrier and shows great potential for the treatment of such growths. Another Canadain clinic has been accepting patients who can't get into the program at the U of Alberta (it's hugely in demand) for DCA therapy: http://www.medicorcancer.com/DCAtherapy.html.

These are not X-ray images! They are MRI images. There is a big difference. MRI machines do not use X-rays.

I can't say how sorry I am to hear this, especially since my mother developed three stage 4 primary brain tumors (glioblastoma multiforme, a/k/a GBM) at age 75 and died from them in less than a year in September 2006. I learned more about brain tumors than anyone should ever have to know about them. They are viscious monsters. Not only do they cause great pain that must be managed with heavy doses of narcotics, as her disease progressed I watched her lose her ability to walk, feed herself, roll over in bed, speak, drink and eat. I wouldn't wish this on anyone. (OK, maybe Bin Laden, but I won't get into that.)

I am also troubled by one piece of info in this article. It says that "People with family members who have gliomas may be more likely to develop this disease." In all the research I did when Mom was sick, everything I read said there was no genetic link to brain tumors. I have to wonder where HuffPo got their info. Very troubling for me, as you can imagine.

The only good I can see coming from Teddy Kennedy's plight is that it will raise awareness of the tremendous need for more research to get a handle on this disease. Even the youngest and healthiest of glioma patients rarely last more than five years, and that's after repeated rounds of chemo, radiation and surgeries to remove tumors that grow back.

Why are all Kennedy sites closed?

Its so unfortunate that it is brain cancer, its one of the hardest forms to fight. However, my grandmother, who died from brain cancer 7 years ago, was told that she only had a year at most to live when she was diagnosed but she ended up living for 10 more years, but she wasn't all there for the last five years. With what medicine was able to do almost two decades ago that kept my grandmother alive, I hope that newer technology will give Senator Kennedy a better chance.