Kennedy is doing well, his wife tells friends

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, midway through six weeks of radiation and chemotherapy treatments for brain cancer, is doing well aside from some fatigue, his wife has told loved ones.

In an e-mail to family and friends sent Wednesday, Victoria Reggie Kennedy said he had been exercising each morning before heading to Boston for treatment at Massachusetts General Hospital. By afternoon, he was back at his family’s compound in Hyannis Port.

The e-mail was obtained Monday from a Kennedy friend.

“The only side effect is fatigue, and that word has never been in Teddy’s vocabulary before,” the e-mail said. “But he’s learning to cope with it. As I have mentioned to many of you, he is tackling cancer with his trademark grit and determination, and he is doing everything he needs to do to regain his strength and health.”

The Massachusetts Democrat, 76, had a seizure at his Cape Cod home on May 17 and was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor. He underwent surgery at Duke University Medical Center on June 2 and has been treated since in Boston.

After his morning treatments in Boston, Kennedy frequently goes sailing on his schooner Mya, his wife wrote.

“I have drawn the line at sailing in thunderstorms, but other than that, he’s out on the water just about every day. He’s making calls, staying in touch with his office staff and colleagues and still pushing all the issues he cares about,” she wrote.

One goal is a renewed push for a universal healthcare bill whenever he is able to return to the Senate. Healthcare and pension issues have been among Kennedy’s priorities since he was elected in 1962.