Glad you caught it - and it sounds like you caught it early too! So hopefully surgery will get it all and there's no movement into your nodes, or what's left of them. I gather you didn't have a reconstruction before? Well a fair portion of your tongue isn't an easy surgery but the are people here who've had total glossectomies and hey are doing okay a few years out. Not to say that it takes that long but that is where they are at now. Are the considering a clinical trial for you? Or proton therapy? (I think that's what it is..). They do it for some recurrences I know one or two people have had it here. It's almost like burning the cells out. It's a good thing you are so diligent with your exams. I'm not sure if I would devote 50+ times a day to it... Once might be good. But at least you caught it and if it didn't show up on your scan then it's probably early stages!

Good luck... Hugs and take care!