Recovering Kennedy to return to Washington

By Bryan Bender, Globe Staff

WASHINGTON -- Aides to Senator Edward M. Kennedy, who has been battling a severe form of brain cancer from his home in Massachusetts, said he plans to return to his second home in Washington this afternoon, a sign that his treatments have been progressing well.

His spokeswoman, Melissa Wagoner, said Kennedy was "looking for a change of scenery" from Cape Cod, where he has been convalescing since the tumor was discovered. The Massachusetts Democrat, who was diagnosed with a malignant tumor about six months ago, will continue his treatments in the nation's capital.

"His doctors are very pleased with his progress, and he will receive his treatments here," Wagoner said. The senator plans to remain in his northwest Washington home and return to Massachusetts for Thanksgiving, she added.

Aides declined to speculate on when Kennedy might return to his duties in the Senate, which is in recess for the rest of the year. But his return to Washington for the next several weeks could coincide with Democrats' plans to call a special session of Congress after the Nov. 4 election. Kennedy is also a strong supporter of Barack Obama, and left Massachusetts to deliver a keynote speech on his behalf at the Democratic National Convention in Denver two months ago.

Since his diagnosis, Kennedy has returned to the Senate just once, in July, to cast a tiebreaking vote on long-delayed Medicare legislation. He was briefly hospitalized last month after suffering a mild seizure, which doctors attributed to a change in his medication.

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