Hi, my name is Ilene and I've had two bouts of tongue cancer. The first was almost 15 years ago when I was 32. I ended up having two surgeries resulting in removal of 1/4 of my tongue and a modified radical neck dissection on the right side. I recovered quite well and was back teaching shortly after surgery. Since my lymph nodes were clear I didn't have radiation. Then after 13 years of nothing but a few benign sores I was again diagnosed with squamous cell of the tongue in December 2001. Two more surgeries left me with about 1/2 of my tongue and this time they removed the nodes on the left side of my neck. I had six weeks of radiation and that experience and the permanent side effects was worse than anything else I experienced. I am still recovering. I'm glad to find people I can talk with about these experiences.