Hey there congrats on being cancer free that's so awesome!! and yes there's always a chance of recurrence but you know what - you have to think beyond that. Your tongue will heal... probably another month or so... the adhesions I think I read somewhere they cut them at some point it sounds semi painful but I imagine it heals quickly. I do think your speech will return to almost normal at some point (my surgeon said I would heal fine and speak normally just have a bit of a lisp when I was tired... he's right... who knew a tongue could get tired ( I listen to any messages I leave to hear how I sound and i'm at say 80 at this point since there is still swelling from radiation). How much did they remove of your tongue? I lost about a third, the underside, on the left... my tongue too drifts off to the side when I stick it out... but it's pretty good otherwise and the swelling steadily goes down... when my plastics fellow came in to peruse me with another student, the student couldn't even tell what was old tongue and what was new... but if you can get away without a graft do... the surgery isn't horrible but it's not fun either.
As for telling people... you work in the medical field tell them you had tongue surgery - you're healing and will be fine (they should be very accepting since they deal with this stuff all the time).. guys too tell them you had a small tumor and had surgery... you're fine and your speaking will get better. If a guy can't love and accept you for who you are then good riddance... because he certainly won't stick around when you really need him. Hugs and soo glad you are doing well! Keep an eye on your neck... you caught the cancer at an early stage, but poorly differentiated can move fast... any sign of swollen lyph nodes, high tail it back to the dr. And keep up your protein!!! take care!