My dad was just diagnosed with a second primary cancer 5 weeks after finishing treatment for SCC on his gums. It was tough news, but it's early so we are hopeful.

Surgeon says he has a small spot on the lateral oral tongue, all the way in the back. (Based on the drawing he did for us, it looks like less than 1/5 his tongue) Scope shows no voice box or epiglottis involvement. He does have a painful node on his neck, but they are not sure if that's related to his tongue or treatment - either way they are taking out along with a few others near by for good measure.

Due to location, they are going to do a radial free flap from his arm to fill the space of the cancer. Dr says dad will have a feeding tube through the nose for 14 days, plus a trach for 5 to 7.

My dad is scared and so are we. What are we to expect in terms of recovery with this surgery? Dr says they test swallowing at 14 days... My dad's strong and made it through treatment without missing a day and no PEG. He lost 5lbs through the whole process, which was amazing.

I'm hoping my dad is one of the 15% that can swallow well following surgery. Will he able to talk? How will nurses and doctors know how he feels if he can't speak? This is all so overwhelming and scary. I've read some amazing recovery stores on here and I'm hoping my dad is one too.