Kennedys Visit Onassis After Cancer Setback

The family of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis gathered at her bedside Wednesday night after the former First Lady suffered serious complications in her fight against cancer.

Onassis, who had been admitted to New York Hospital on Monday “as a result of serious complications of her malignant lymphoma,” was discharged “in accordance with the patient’s clearly expressed wishes and with the concurrence of her physicians,” the hospital said in a prepared statement.

Her somber brother-in-law, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.), and his wife, Victoria, traveled from Washington to be with her and afterward the senator told reporters, “I think all members of the family are distressed by the medical reports.

“We love Jackie. All the members of the family love her very deeply,” Kennedy said.

The senator said Onassis’ children--John F. Kennedy Jr. and Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg--were at her bedside. Both live in New York.

The 64-year-old widow of President John F. Kennedy has been undergoing chemotherapy since January, when she was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, which affects the lymphatic system.

“While in the hospital, she received further diagnostic evaluation and treatment,” the hospital said.

On Tuesday, the hospital denied a published report that Onassis had taken a serious turn for the worse, saying her prognosis was excellent.

“Everything seems to be going as the doctors planned and as scheduled,” a hospital spokesman said in the earlier update.

He said Onassis had been admitted Monday for “routine treatment dictated by her condition.”

Onassis’s admission was her third since January.

She spent six days in the hospital last month recovering from emergency surgery for a bleeding ulcer, believed to have been caused by the chemotherapy.