Hi shera welcome. Sorry about the recurrence but your dr. May have painted a bleaker picture than the reality - my dr. usually hits the worst case scenario first and works back from there because anything less is good news. Sandy is right there are a few people here who've had total glossectomies and are very very functional. Eating, talking, and taste are all things they can do. It wasn't an easy trip but they got through it. Regarding the radiation depending on where you had it the first time you may also get it again - MD will tell you for sure. And yes they do reconstruct tongues so hopefully this will be available to you. You said BOT cancer - Have them check you for HPV - and please try not to go crazy until you've seen MD Anderson.. They are one of the best... Good luck! And take care.