Kennedy to stay in Mass. this week, still plans on returning to Senate in Jan.

U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy will not return to Washington, D.C., when Congress reconvenes this week, choosing instead to work from Massachusetts, the Associated Press reports.

Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Hyannis Port)The Hyannis Port Democrat plans to return to the Senate in January.

"As Sen. Kennedy said two weeks ago in Denver," Melissa Wagoner, a spokeswoman for Kennedy, said in a statement, "he intends to be on the floor of the United States Senate next January when we begin to write the next great chapter of American progress."

Kennedy surprised his party with his appearance and speech two weeks ago at the Democratic National Convention. 

"It is so wonderful to be here," Kennedy said at the beginning of his address after several minutes of uninterrupted applause. "Nothing, nothing was going to keep me away from this special gathering tonight."

The senator suffered a seizure in the middle of May as a result of a malignant brain tumor. The tumor was surgically removed soon thereafter and Kennedy has since completed the first phase of chemotherapy and radiation treatment.