BOSTON -- Sen. Edward M. Kennedy returned to his Hyannis Port home late Monday morning, a week after undergoing an aggressive surgery in North Carolina to treat a cancerous brain tumor.

Kennedy Goes Sailing After Coming Home | Complete Coverage

"It's good to be home," Kennedy told NewsCenter 5's Janet Wu outside the family compound in Hyannis on Monday.

The senator's plane touched down at Barnstable Municipal Airport in Hyannis at about 11:30 a.m. Monday. Three hours later, Kennedy was out sailing with his wife, Vicki -- just like he did when he came home last month after being diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor.

"Glad to see you ... good to see you all," a smiling Kennedy told reporters as he made his way down to his sailboat, the Mya, on Monday afternoon.

The senior senator's doctors at Duke said so far, they are pleased with his "excellent recovery."

"Sen. Edward Kennedy is making an excellent recovery from his brain surgery. He will continue his recuperation at home in Massachusetts under the supervision of the very capable doctors at the Massachusetts General Hospital," Duke University Medical Center's Dr. Allan Friedman said in a statement.

Friedman, one of the top neurosurgeons in the nation, performed the delicate 3½-hour surgery at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C., last Monday to remove as much of the tumor as possible without harming healthy brain tissue.

"His doctors are pleased with his progress since surgery a week ago, and he will continue to recuperate at home before starting the next phase of his treatment," Kennedy's office said in a statement.

The 76-year-old Democrat was diagnosed with a malignant glioma last month after he suffered a seizure at his Cape Cod home. Malignant gliomas, one of the worst kinds of brain cancer, are diagnosed in about 9,000 Americans a year.

"He is thankful for the extraordinary care of the doctors and nurses at Duke, and also for the continued prayers and well wishes from the people of Massachusetts and all over the country," Kennedy's office's statement said.

NewsCenter 5 medical editor Dr. Timothy Johnson said the surgery is not a cure, but it is believed to improve the effectiveness of chemotherapy and radiation.

"He will come back to the Mass General to have what is the more traditional therapy for this kind of brain cancer, which is a combination of an oral chemotherapy drug and radiation, presumably, over a six-week period," Johnson said.

The family has released few details about Kennedy's condition and diagnosis, including whether it is a Stage 3 or Stage 4 tumor.

"In the interest of family privacy, there will not be regular updates regarding the senator's daily schedule or treatment plans moving forward," Kennedy's office said.

"The senator and his wife Vicki are wonderful people, and I hope you will join me in wishing them the best as they continue their difficult journey to fight this disease. Their courageous and positive attitude is a lesson for us all," Friedman said in a statement.

The senator's son, Rhode Island Rep. Patrick Kennedy, told the Providence Journal that his father is now planning for the future and focused on writing a universal health care bill and getting Sen. Barack Obama elected president.

"It adds a great deal of poignancy," Patrick Kennedy said. "But that's how he sees it. He has to recover so he can get health care for the millions of people who don't have access to the care that we do."