Hi Claire,

It is good to hear that you caught it early as I did as well. My dentist and I discovered a lump behind my upper front teeth. If I had actually listened to him at first, I probably would not have had to have such a big surgery. Who knows. Mine was also T1N0M0 and my Oral Surgeon offered Radiation and removing lymph nodes if that is what I wanted to do as a precaution, even though he said I did not need either. I got a second and third opinion from the Oncologist and the Radiation Oncologist and they both concurred that there would be more negative effects of both than benefits. My scans were clear except for one lymph node but that turned out to be from getting sick. They did biopsy the lymph node. I am not an expert at all, in fact my six month checkup is coming up but I feel that if anything does pop up, they will be able to catch it as long as I keep my appointments up. I am just not a fan of unnecessary surgeries. I am all for being cautious but not too overly cautious. I agree with a previous poster about getting another opinion. Just my take. Thank you for your time.

Hi claire, welcome and sorry you have to be here. I too had a tumor on the left side of my tongue. Had a partial glossectomy with a reconstruction of my tongue with skin from my wrist - your's doesn't sound that involved so it is likely smaller - mine was 2.5 cm with a depth of 1.5 cm. I also had a neck dissection and nodes removed - I don't know how many but i will find out today as I have my post op appointment - the surgery was upwards of 10 hours because of the reconstruction but healing went well. My neck and shoulder are still a little stiff and my range of motion is still somewhat limited but I've had no real pain. Mostly numbness. for the most part the neck dissection has been the least of my issues - the scar on my wrist is just nasty not really painful - just ugly - and since you will be avoiding this you'll be fine. It may take a month or two to recover but you are young and that's in your favor. I am 3.5 weeks post op and feeling better daily. Best of luck with your surgery.