Kennedy's wife says he's doing fine

BOSTON, July 7 (UPI) -- Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., is doing fine midway through his radiation and chemotherapy regimen for a malignant brain tumor, his wife says.

"The news is really all positive and encouraging," Victoria Kennedy wrote in an e-mail to family and friends that was obtained by The Boston Globe. "The only side effect is fatigue, and that word has never been in Teddy's vocabulary before. 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 76-year-old senator was diagnosed with the tumor May 17 after suffering a seizure. He had surgery at Duke University Medical Center June 2 and has been recuperating at his Cape Cod home in Massachusetts.

Kennedy's wife said in the e-mail sent out last Wednesday and obtained Monday by the Globe that he exercises every morning and sails most afternoons.

"He's making calls, staying in touch with his office staff and colleagues and still pushing all the issues he cares about," she wrote.

"As Teddy says, this disease is a bear. But hey, my guy's a lion. I'm betting on the lion," she wrote.

The Kennedys celebrated their wedding anniversary Thursday.