HRC Back Story

BREAKING: Civil rights and GLBT community champion Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA) has been diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor today after being hospitalized following a seizure Saturday morning at his home on Cape Cod. We're waiting for doctors to perform additional medical evaluations and determine the best treatment options for Sen. Kennedy. Doctors said today that Kennedy is stable:

"He has had no further seizures, remains in good overall condition, and is up and walking around the hospital," said a joint statement issued by Dr. Lee Schwamm, vice chairman of the Department of Neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital and Dr. Larry Ronan, Kennedy's primary care physician.

The doctors said Kennedy will remain in the hospital "for the next couple of days according to routine protocol."

"He remains in good spirits and full of energy," they said.

Kennedy's wife and children have been with him each day but have made no public statements.

Malignant gliomas are a type of brain cancer diagnosed in about 9,000 Americans a year -- and the most common type among adults. It's a starting diagnosis: How well patients fare depends on what specific tumor type is determined by further testing.

Upon learning the news, HRC Vice President of Programs David Smith, who served on Capitol Hill as Sen. Kennedy's communications director, expressed his best wishes for Sen. Kennedy's quick recovery:

All of us at the Human Rights Campaign send our best wishes to Senator Ted Kennedy and his family.  Senator Kennedy has been a champion for our community for a long time  -- long before many of us even got involved in the fight, Ted Kennedy was fighting for us.  I had the opportunity to work for Senator Kennedy and know how committed he is to equality for all.  We're all keeping him in our thoughts.

Earlier this year, Sen. Kennedy spoke with passion on the importance of knocking down walls of prejudice, discrimination and bigotry at HRC's Spring Board Meeting. Watch the video below: