Wow! - A President's Secret Operation: How Grover Cleveland Hid His Cancer Surgery From Everyone

[RKP5637]

I found this rather intriguing, it's quite a story, how his cancer operation was performed and hidened in the 1890's. It's really an interesting read. Nothing could be kept this secret IMO today.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/06/30/1367390/-A-President-s-Secret-Operation-How-Grover-Cleveland-Hid-His-Cancer-Surgery-From-Everyone

It was not a good time to be re-elected. The country was in the middle of a recession (known in those days as a "Financial Panic&quot . There was widespread unemployment. Hundreds of businesses had shuttered their doors: over a hundred railroads, the core of the American economy, had closed down, and even the Reading Railroad, one of the biggest corporations in the US at the time, had gone bankrupt.

That night, as he settled into the White House for the second time, Cleveland noticed something odd--a rough patch on the left side of the roof of his mouth. Over the next four weeks, whatever it was seemed to get bigger and bigger, and by the middle of June the President was worried about it.

The doctors examined him and came to the conclusion that none of them had wanted to reach: the President had a cancerous tumor, and it was growing rapidly. If he did not have surgery to remove it immediately, he would soon die. And, given the state of medical practice at the time, there was at least a 15% chance that the surgery itself would kill him. (Ether was the only anesthetic available at the time, and it was risky to use.)

On July 1, six surgeons, headed by Dr Joseph Bryant, met him on board the yacht. As the boat pitched and tossed on the waves, and under the light from a single battery-powered electric bulb, they placed the President under ether and spent the next 90 minutes extracting a tumor about the size of a golf ball, removing in the process five teeth and the entire left side of the roof of his mouth. All of the work had to be done through the President's mouth to avoid leaving any suspicious scars on his face (fortunately, Cleveland's bushy mustache helped hide all the bruising from the operation).

Because the surgery was so extensive, it left a large gap in his upper jaw that prevented him from speaking. To hide that fact, Cleveland stayed at his house in Cape Cod and carefully avoided all public appearances for the next three weeks. When he had healed sufficiently, the doctors returned to see him again. It was explained to the press that the President had a toothache and was just having a tooth pulled. In reality, the doctors were removing the last bits of the tumor and making a rubber plug to fit into the gaping hole in the roof of his mouth, as well as a removable set of artificial teeth that fit into the gap of his jaw to give his face a natural appearance and allow him to once again speak normally. Finally, four weeks after the surgery, President Cleveland was able to return to Washington again. No one was the wiser.

[KamaAina]

1. FDR hid his disability from the public for years

The White House press corps knew, of course -- how could they not? -- but they played along. It was not until shortly before his death that he "outed" himself, saying that sitting down "makes it a lot easier for me not to have to carry about ten pounds of steel around on the bottom of my legs".

There was even a debate about whether he should have been portrayed in a wheelchair on his memorial, because that was not how the public knew him!

[merrily]

4. Speculation is that FDR also had cancer of the brain when he ran for the last time. One woman

commented that she'd never seen anyone look that bad and still be alive.

I think his inaugural speech that time was the shortest in history.

Tsongas comes to mind as well.

[RKP5637]

8. I watched the TV series on him, what an amazing person. n/t

[closeupready]

2. That really IS interesting.

Thanks. K&R

[TwilightGardener]

3. That must have hurt like hell--or he was doped up on morphine or whatever they had back then.

Weeks and weeks of agony, how did he even eat?

[RKP5637]

7. I had wondered about that. It seems it would have been horribly painful.

He must have been a very strong person mentally to have handled all of that, and especially when the US was not doing well. Some stories from the past are so incredible and intriguing. I'm amazed he survived it all, so wonderful the cancer did not return.

[dixiegrrrrl]

5. Fascinating....thanks for posting this.

[RKP5637]

9. I heard it on the internet radio last night, and wondered then if it was BS or not, but

then I looked it up on the net today. Just an amazing story/times.

[joeybee12]

6. Very interesting...couldn't do that today...

Couldn't even hide a sneeze.

[RKP5637]

10. Yep, so true. I had wondered why they did it on a boat ... I guess it was just

easier that way to get him isolated from everyone.

[joeybee12]

11. Did you see Ken Burns' The Roosevelts?

They went to great lengths to hide FDR's polio...

[RKP5637]

12. Yes, that was incredible, he was remarkable. n/t

[CajunBlazer]

13. A great deal of Jack Kennedy's medical conditions were hidden as well

From a New York times article entitled: In J.F.K. File, Hidden Illness, Pain and Pills

"As president, he was famous for having a bad back, and since his death, biographers have pieced together details of other illnesses, including persistent digestive problems and Addison's disease, a life-threatening lack of adrenal function.

But newly disclosed medical files covering the last eight years of Kennedy's life, including X-rays and prescription records, show that he took painkillers, antianxiety agents, stimulants and sleeping pills, as well as hormones to keep him alive, with extra doses in times of stress."

here is the link to the article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2002/11/17/us/in-jfk-file-hidden-illness-pain-and-pills.html

[RKP5637]

14. Interesting, even more medication than I had ever imagined. Thanks for the link! n/t