Hi there and welcome - I had a similar tumor- it was larger than yours and initially after 2 cts and an MRI - determined to not have spread past the tongue - wrong!!!!! I could feel a node pop up prior to Surgery but it didn't matter as my dr told me he was removing 40 nodes from the get go. thankfully he did and caught it with only one node involved.

For this type of cancer (non HPV related) the usually remove them as a Precaution.

I don't want to scare you just make you aware of two things - your tumor was very small so chances are you're clear. But do keep a close eye on your neck just in case anything pop up. And if it does hightail it back to see him immediately. (if you are very young this is even more important as this cancer tends to be more aggressive in younger people.

Secondly your speech will improve once you've healed. I had half of my tongue removed on the left side and a new piece grafted from my wrist then they radiated it... And now - almost 2 years out you can barely tell - things will improve. Hugs and welcome