Hello everyone,

I've addressed on a few occasions about my father in law Joe's condition and subsequent surgery.He was to have this major surgery to remove so many parts of his mouth and jaw I lost count.Well on the day of surgery which we expected to be around 15 hours the surgeon came out in about 6 and said there would be no need no plastics to operate because he "got all the cancer".It turns out he removed the tumor from left side of his tongue and the left side of the tongue itself and that is all he did beside the left radical neck dissection.Now,I was thrilled that it hadn't turned out to be the monster surgery that he had planned and that he had a great chance to be cancer free.We were all thinking this way until today when I finally bumped into the doctor in the hospital.He said the reason that he didn't take his whole tongue and disfigure him was because he felt he doesn't have much of a chance.I remember him saying after the surgery about he may have found 2 different types of cancer in his neck and that his trach tube would be in for a month but I must have missed the part about him not having much of a chance.He says he has a poor prognosis and a 40%chance of living a year and it goes downward from there.They have not told him yet and asked me not to.Joe thinks he's basically cured and they are blowing sunshine up his butt.Has this happened to anyone else and has anyone not have a doctor be straight with them I find this morally and ethically wrong but anyone else I've spoken to in the medical field says it happens all the time.I would just like some feedback if anyone is willing to share.

Patty