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RIP: Kara Kennedy

By Jeralyn, Section Media
Posted on Sat Sep 17, 2011 at 12:23:00 PM EST
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Teddy Kennedy's daughter, Kara Kennedy, died yesterday at age 51. She suffered a heart attack while exercising at a health club in D.C.

Kara battled lung cancer in 2003. Her brother said it may have taken a toll on her heart, and she loved to exercise.

Kara and her husband Michael have two teenage children. Our condolences to the family.

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    RIP: Kara Kennedy | 13 comments (13 topical)

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    Depressing news especially on the (none / 0) (#1)
    by brodie on Sat Sep 17, 2011 at 02:13:38 PM EST
    same day as we hear about the Mondale daughter.

    Seems too that Teddy's family has been hit by more than their share of major medical issues.  I wonder if in Kara's case that, given part of her lungs had been removed, whether she would have been better off with a less strenuous exercise program such as just a brisk daily walk.

    The toll of chemo and radiation (5.00 / 1) (#4)
    by Towanda on Sat Sep 17, 2011 at 02:49:04 PM EST
    is severe, as I've seen again and again with friends -- and now with family (one who also has lost a lot of lung but is doing sensible exercise).

    But as a physician in the family reminds us, the medical treatments may take years away but still, in balance, give more years for a while.  We take what we can get. . . .

    Parent

    And she beat the odds (5.00 / 1) (#5)
    by Towanda on Sat Sep 17, 2011 at 02:55:20 PM EST
    by working hard to hang in there for eight years after her lung surgery, a lot longer than the norm, as I now have to know about the data.  She was diagnosed earlier than a lot of cases, though, in only her young 40s.  So that hard work to hang in for eight more years meant a lot to their children only in their teens now.  

    I have gained a lot of admiration and awe for the will to fight the odds by cancer survivors.

    Parent

    Yes, me too. I hope i would have the same (5.00 / 2) (#6)
    by ruffian on Sat Sep 17, 2011 at 03:02:13 PM EST
    strength. I hope she and her family made the most of the last 8 years, and I am glad Teddy was spared her loss.

    Parent
    So sorry for another (5.00 / 1) (#9)
    by BackFromOhio on Sun Sep 18, 2011 at 03:14:14 PM EST
    loss to cancer.

    Both my parents smoked heavily for decades and both died of cancer (each had two different types, some years apart).  Their history and other things have made me very health conscious, a proponent of preventive health measures, including nutrition, and very wary of the search and destroy approach to cancer treatment so popular in this country.  I am heartened by developments that base treatments on understanding causes of different cancers as well as how cancer cells grow and thrive.  To wit, the treatment for certain breast cancers that cuts off the blood supply to tumors rather than damage healthy as well as cancerous tissue.

    Parent

    The Kennedy Sadness (none / 0) (#2)
    by koshembos on Sat Sep 17, 2011 at 02:16:51 PM EST
    refuses to leave. It's a reflection on the country's lot.

    So sorry to hear this (none / 0) (#3)
    by sj on Sat Sep 17, 2011 at 02:27:50 PM EST


    This is so sad. (none / 0) (#7)
    by caseyOR on Sat Sep 17, 2011 at 05:16:30 PM EST
    Fifty-one is so young to die. My condolences to her family and friends.

    If you take away Jack and Bobby's deaths, (hard to do I know but bear with me), then have the Kennedys suffered more loss than other families? It is such a large family that I think maybe they're more average than we tend to think.

    The assassinations, though, those deaths magnify every subsequent loss for that family.

    And in no way am I discounting or diminishing the loss that each death brings.

    Well, the assassinations (none / 0) (#8)
    by sj on Sat Sep 17, 2011 at 09:41:32 PM EST
    and the death of John, Jr. in the plane crash.  Young, kind, handsome and coming into his own creating a unique space in the world and in the Kennedy family.

    Parent
    JFK & RFK (none / 0) (#10)
    by BackFromOhio on Sun Sep 18, 2011 at 03:15:55 PM EST
    also lost both a sister and brother to WWII.  I think the Kennedy family does have more than its proportionate share of untimely deaths.  

    Parent
    Kathleen Kennedy actually died (none / 0) (#11)
    by caseyOR on Sun Sep 18, 2011 at 03:20:04 PM EST
    after WW II had ended. She was flying to the south of France with her beloved when their plane hit bad weather and went down.

    Joe Kennedy, Jr. died in the war when the plane he was piloting exploded in mid-air. Jack, of course we all know about PT 109. And Bobby made it through the war safely. Teddy was too young for WW II.

    Parent

    Ah, forgot about the siblings (none / 0) (#12)
    by sj on Sun Sep 18, 2011 at 09:03:52 PM EST
    My family is full of large families.  I think the loss is disproportionate as well.

    Parent
    Saw a program once (none / 0) (#13)
    by jbindc on Mon Sep 19, 2011 at 08:44:13 AM EST
    On the Kennedys that talked about the number of tragic deaths in their family compared to others, but pointed out that many of them engaged in riskier activities than most other people did (remember Michael Kennedy who died after hitting a tree while skiing and playing football?), so when viewed in that light, it wasn't as surprising.

    Parent
    RIP: Kara Kennedy | 13 comments (13 topical)

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