Thanks everyone for the comments. I did fail to mention that I did change Drs each time. My last one was one of the top ENT Otolaryngologist/surgical oncologist in this part of Virginia. I also went to the UVA medical Center for a consult after the first recurrence.

My current dr felt that the previous two ENTs were too conservative. That's why he took the approach of removing the lesion and having it tested on the spot to make sure he got it all. He wanted to wait until after this surgery to decide on radiation because of the side effects.

My concern now is that I'm three weeks out of surgery (and healing well) but I have a white area at the center of the surgery site. It appears to be leukoplakia or it could just be the healing process. I don't know.

I may be over reacting. I'm just tired of not knowing why this keeps coming back. As it stands right now I've lost about a quarter of my tongue. This last surgery he discussed the possibility of doing a skin graft but during the surgery he felt it wasn't needed.

I see my dr again in three weeks.