I had a similar surgery in August of 2000. They removed about half of my tongue and did the neck dissection on one side. They reconstructed my tongue with tissue from my arm. I was only 30 years old at the time.

The worst part of the whole thing was the trach... it's kind of a scary feeling because you wake up and feel like you can't breathe. They reassure you often - but remember me when you're there... YOU CAN AND WILL BE OK!

There really was not much pain associated with my surgery - the most painful part was my skin graft donor site on my leg - but that was not anything major.

I'm praying for you and hope you'll keep us posted on your progress. Please don't wait any longer.

Take care,
Lisa