[Lee Atwater], 39, has been receiving conventional radiation therapy at George Washington University Hospital since the tumor was discovered last month. [Mary Matalin]'s statement yesterday described the growth as a "small, treatable astrocytoma located in the right frontal lobe" of the brain. An astrocytoma is a tumor involving a type of brain cell that supports and nourishes neighboring nerve cells.

An associate of Atwater said he deliberately had chosen "a very aggressive therapy. It's just like Lee. They told him it was an option and he went for it."