Brain cancer specialist chats on boston.com

Patients with the kind of brain tumor Senator Edward M. Kennedy has may need to scale back their activities while undergoing treatment, a Boston cancer expert said in a chat on boston.com this morning.

"Some of my patients are able to maintain very busy schedules during treatment," said Dr. Andrew Norden, a brain cancer specialist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. "Most of my patients, though, experience fatigue that prompts them to cut back. I advise my patients to plan for a significant reduction in work hours."

Norden also said patients need to wait at least 10 to 14 days after having a biopsy before they start radiation and chemotherapy to be sure they have healed from the procedure that brought them their diagnosis.

Asked by a reader how he breaks such devastating news to a patient, he said: "It's a difficult conversation, of course. I focus on the fact that treatments are constantly improving and that I will help the patient through the difficult road ahead."