Suez

The complications Ron is suffering from are the reason that surgery is the last resort for base of tongue cancer. I was fine after my first bout of only rad and chemo. However after the cancer came back, I had no choice but surgery . I lost over half my tongue (most of it in the base which doesn't show). My flap is sewn into the bottom of my gum on the lower left. My tongue has very limited motion.
I found speech therapy helped me tremendously with relearning how to say "certain letters". The exercises I was given were boring and childish but worth doing (repeating lists of words, over and over) Until I finished a full year of therapy and sessions, phone conversations were nigh impossible but now I can even handle complaints to my cable service hotline. I still have to speak very very slowly .
Teeth are important in speech so that is probably a factor also. My prosthodontist made a palate drop so my tongue could touch it (I can not touch the roof of my mouth nor even poke my tongue out of my mouth) which helped a lot in speech.
In the future, TORS (trans oral robotic surgery) will radically reduce such damage. My limited tongue mobility also contributes to my inability to swallow.
Losing your tongue to save your life evokes the line from Adele's Someone like you :
[quote]Regrets and mistakes
They are memories made.
Who would have known how bittersweet this would taste?
[/quote]
keep the faith
Charm