How honest are doctors when it comes to the odds of living through a serious surgery?

Last night I stopped by my moms house and found a note from the fire department. She was taken to the ER for what was originally thought to be a stroke or heart attack.

But it wasn’t either of those things. She saw a neurologist this morning and they found a massive growth in her brain. Apparently it is lemon sized and has been the source of her terrible migraines for the last ten years. She is scheduled to have it removed in 21 days. They said they will have to remove a portion of her skull to get it out.

She made it sound like the doctor said there is obviously a risk but he doesn’t see any major reasons to be concerned. Do doctors usually say it will be OK if they know it will not?

Maybe my mom is lying so I don’t worry as much. I don’t know.