Sandra,
I had my first bout of tongue cancer at 32. They thought it was in situ and removed only a small area but didn't get clear margins. I had a second surgery to take more of the tongue (maybe a 1/5 to 1/4 on the side of my tongue) and also a modified radical neck dissection. All went ok and there was no cancer in the nodes. I was teaching at the college level at the time and was back in the classroom 2 weeks after surgery. I had some speech issues but they went away over the next couple of months with additional therapy.
ilene