[quote=Cheryld]Anyway, I had the works. And recovery from surgery was far easier![/quote]

This was my husband's experience, as well. The surgery (which removed about 1/4 of his tongue) was not exactly a picnic, but he was out of the hospital after 4 days, off his pain medication by about 12 days, and back at work after 2 weeks. Once the swelling went down, right around the 2-week mark, you couldn't tell any difference in his speech. His tongue today even looks much the same as it did before surgery (other than the radiation damage), it just has a little crescent missing.