Hi Barb

---basically, anything 'palliative' is to keep a person comfortable and symptoms under control for as long as possible--in my case, to stop the tumours growing for as long as possible so I can GET some quality of life--and keep it as long as possible.
My cancer is NOT curable (short of a miracle, and St. Bernadette got one of those, so am not ruling it out!) which is why Radiation and Surgery have not been ofered as options for cure.
Other options to come (also palliative) are small doses of radiation for pain in jaw tumour, pain control with drugs, and Hospice care.

You really need to talk to your care team about all options/chances and I'm sure you will hear the word 'palliative' if your man decides NOT to go for the surgery.

Keep asking questions--on here, and of your care team---and ask the same ones of the professionals as many times as you need to--take a notebook, write down answers and yell WHOA! if you don't understand!

This cancer crap is a whole new world, believe me--I can't believe how many questions I've asked already and how many new ones keep cropping up!

Take a deep breath and look after yourself
Brenda