Hi las,

I went through the same kind of thing, 35th birthday and right before dinner at a steakhouse I got "the call". Cancer in my tongue, left side and it was stage 3. I scheduled surgery as soon as I could and had a radical neck for lymph removal, glosectomy with reconstruction, a trache tube and a feeding tube. I know it sounds like a lot but really it was'nt that bad. I was freaked out when I woke from anesthesia but after getting used to everything I was and still am very thankful for all the people, my mom and the hospital for saving me. 6 months later I had a recurrence and had another radical neck dissection with chemo and radiation a month after. On June 13th I will be a year past finishing chemo, here's what I can tell you:
1)Listen, take notes, write questions down and bring them with you to be answered. Doctors try not to bombard you because there is a ton going on and its a lot for you to remember so writing it down helps.
2) Get plenty of water through the whole thing. I had a bad time with constipation, keeping up on your water will help keep you somewhat regular. Its bad enough you've just got done with surgery, not being able to "go" just adds misery.
3) Dont workout or eat a big meal before your surgery cut-off window. I had a hard workout and ate a large meal before the 24hrs cut-off, that was a bad idea. I woke up from anesthesia and my arms/chest were cramped to my body. The large meal 24hrs prior made the constipation from the drugs waaay worse.