Glad you are here, Fred. You've come to the best place for the very latest researched information and compassionate help from people who have been where you are. Usually the base of tongue area has a very high treatment success rate and I'm sure you will hear from others who have had similar experiences to yours. It's good you are getting the biopsy very soon so you will be able to know what's really happening and can start doing something about it. My son had Squamous Cell Cancer on the underside, right side of his tongue and although he had to have a portion of his tongue removed, it was only a very short time that affected his speech. His job (as software developer) requires a lot of phone consulting, too and has no problems with speech at all. And almost five years later, he's doing great!