Sen. Edward Kennedy has been called, for good reason, a lion in the Senate. For a half-century, he's championed the causes of the afflicted, from workers' rights to children's health care. He's done as a leader ought to do, remembering his duty as a servant on behalf of the public good.

The Massachusetts Democrat's greatest contribution may be before him right now. His latest battle, against brain cancer, will be the fight of his life.

I know from experience: My own husband, Michael Dobson, is fighting terminal brain cancer. Since October 2006, Michael has been battling fiercely the same type of tumor that afflicts Kennedy, a glioblastoma multiforme, stage four, the most common and deadly type.

Kennedy has a difficult road ahead. Hopefully, they'll operate, but he'll lose much speaking ability. What he won't lose, though, is his courage and spirit, and he'll need all of it.

Michael had six weeks of daily chemo/radiation therapies and two surgeries, followed by 13 rounds of monthly chemo by Temodar, the gold-standard treatment.

Kennedy may opt for new treatment or he may try other types of targeted therapies. The best prognosis will come if he is able to have surgery. This will buy limited time and give him a chance to do some important work.

Since his brain tumor, my husband Michael has been able to do some architectural drawing and limited farm work, including planting.

It isn't easy. It's hard for him to speak with ease and he needs speech therapy.

We are lucky though, because, while we face the fear each time a new MRI is due every six weeks, Mike has had time to do his life's work. Part of that was the decision we made for my campaign for the U.S. Senate.

We decided to put the concerns we most value into my action, as a candidate, and to fight for peoples' voices in the leadership of our country. Since October, Michael has been with me all the way, while I wage an active campaign.

It's not the typical way that people fight cancer, but in our case it's been the right choice.

We discuss the most important policies we believe our leaders should address, from an economic recovery plan to a mortgage foreclosures policy to a strategy for stabilizing gas speculation.

We are also calling for a war crimes indictment of President George Bush, with a petition that we'll circulate this summer. With Michael's support, I've protested inhumane congressional practices by staging a rally; we've also conducted sit-ins and confrontations with Sen. Susan Collins and Rep. Tom Allen to call them to their consciences.

We've declared our intent for a worldwide war on cancer, to be wiped out in 10 years. Kennedy could be key in this fight we want to be waged on behalf of the legions of people affected by this disease, which is the scourge of our time.

If he chooses, the Senate's Lion could help with the cause of eradicating cancer. It is much needed. Funding just for brain cancer from grant money by the National Cancer Institute is due to be reduced in November by 25 percent.

Two major consortiums are folding into one: the NABTT(New Approaches in Brain Tumor Treatment) and the NABTC (North America Brain Tumor Consortium). This consolidation further reduces research for the elusive cure to brain tumors.

The challenge remains to find a cure, but the funding is drying up.

Kennedy fought for cancer funding 30 years ago after his son, Ted Kennedy Jr., lost his leg to a type of bone cancer called osteogenic sarcoma, and many owe their lives to his efforts.

We must, finally, cure brain tumors and all cancer.

Edward Kennedy, use this time well, and bring us back home to our moral center and to the core conviction to fight and cure cancer. With your help, we can do this. We must; it's the challenge before you and before us all.

We are with you. Mike and I thank you.

Laurie Dobson of Kennebunkport is running as an independent for the U.S. Senate against incumbent Republican Susan Collins. Democratic Representative Tom Allen also is seeking the seat.