When Roberto and Deborah Heros first saw the news that Sen. Edward M. Kennedy had been diagnosed with a brain tumor, theirs was not a typical reaction.

''I don't think we felt the gloom and horror that others may have felt,'' said Deborah, ``because we know there can be hope with such diagnoses.''

If she seems confident, it's with good reason. The Heroses are husband-and-wife brain specialists -- she a neurologist, neuro-oncologist and chief of neurology at Jackson Memorial/University of Miami, he a neurosurgeon and co-chair of the Miller School of Medicine, Department of Neurological Surgery. She's from Iowa, he's from Cuba.

For decades the couple, who met while working with brain tumor patients at Massachusetts General Hospital, have worked to diagnose, treat and extend the lives of brain tumor patients.

After the diagnosis of Kennedy, who initially was treated at Massachusetts General, their mission now includes educating the public. ''It's important that people know the basics about this sort of ailment, how medical doctors approach it, and what's fact and fiction,'' said Deborah, 54.

Adds Roberto, 65: ``People should know that effective treatment can prolong life.''

MYSTERIOUS ORIGINS

Kennedy was diagnosed last month with a malignant brain tumor, called a glioma, in the upper left brain. The tumor, which gets its name from the glial cells surrounding it, is lodged in the section of the brain that controls spoken and written language.

''In general, there are about 18,000 new cases of brain tumors diagnosed each year,'' says Deborah. ``About half of those are malignant gliomas. They can grow in any part of the brain.''

What causes brain tumors to grow is a mystery, Deborah says, but one thing is certain, according to Roberto: ``There is no evidence that what you eat or drink contributes to a cause.''

That doesn't mean there aren't risk factors. Exposing the head to radiation -- often through treatment of other cancer -- is an established environmental risk. Immune system disorders, family history and age also factor in.

The incidence rate of gliomas rises with age, with those in the 75-to-84 age group most at risk, according to the American Cancer Society. Kennedy is 76.

''The risk does increase with age,'' Deborah says. ``It is not unheard of for children or younger adults to develop brain cancer, but it is usually a different kind.''

Symptoms of a tumor's presence include nausea, sudden weakness or dizziness bordering on paralysis, seizures, numbness, and sometimes headaches and blurred vision.

Surgery to remove all or a portion of the tumor is the favored approach. Last week, Kennedy underwent surgery at Duke University's Brain Tumor Center.

''It is my understanding that his tumor was caught in a relatively early stage, and his team was able to remove nearly all of it,'' Roberto says. ``The fact that they could reach it with relative ease and remove the bulk of it is a positive sign.''

''If a tumor is located in a difficult-to-reach part of the brain, an area that contains a control center, like for speech, removing a tumor can be more difficult,'' he says.

Regardless of the odds, modern brain cancer treatment regiments are multifaceted.

''You may have noticed that Sen. Kennedy was being treated by a team of doctors,'' Deborah says. ``That's because today we treat this type of tumor and cancer with what we call multimodality treatments, combining surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy -- a multipronged approach, with each one having its own expert.''

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