Kennedy addresses the convention. Photo: AP

Ted Kennedy is 76 years old, and he’s being treated for a deadly form of brain cancer. Did he put himself at risk by speaking at the Democratic convention?

Kennedy finished a series of chemotherapy and radiation treatments last month, the Boston Globe notes. That typically leaves a patient with a weakened immune system — but just how weak can vary widely.

Doctors can order a blood test to measure the patient’s immune strength (especially important is the level of neutrophils, a type of white blood cell).

Patients whose levels are dangerously low are often warned to avoid sick people and stay away from crowds. But other patients maintain enough immune strength so that things like traveling and being in large groups aren’t a problem, a brain-cancer expert told the Health Blog.

Kennedy got final clearance from his doctors in Massachusetts before leaving for Denver on Sunday, the Globe reports. And he had a “precautionary checkup” at a local hospital after he arrived.

“I don’t limit my patients at all,” an oncologist who isn’t involved in Kennedy’s case told the Globe. “If patients want to travel, I never tell them to hold off just because they have a tumor or they’re on treatment. Life is precious.”

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