When my mother was diagnosed the tumor was not very large. She had a neck dissection followed by radiation/chemo. The time between the surgery and the radiation which was only a couple of weeks the tumor seemed to get large very fast. It was noticable when she talked or laughed. The radiation shrank the tumor so much they thought it was gone. She had to have a portion of her tongue removed later, because the tumor was not completely erradicatied by the radiation. She had a lot of surgery in February 2002 which included her jaw and the floor of her mouth. She recovered and is now back home and is self-sufficient. It has been no picnic for her, but at 79 I think she is glad that she had the surgery and is able to talk and eat pureed food. She is even driving to the hairdresser, church and grocery store again. It's definitely a tough road, but you will be amazed at how fast you spring back after surgery. Best of luck and many good wishes on your recovery.