Ditto what Christine said. 6 MOS???? that's crazy... this is cancer (and an advance one - Stage 4), not a torn ligament. Usually it's a 6 week waiting period from dx to treatment (2 months max). At this point what is done is done but that's an inordinate amount of time for what can be a very aggressive cancer. Based on your explanation of the surgery etc. I have to wonder if it is a BOT cancer or an oral tongue cancer. BOT is traditionally treated with radiation and chemotherapy as a primary treatment. Normally they don't operate on HPV+ Base of tongue cancer unless it's very very involved and then it might only to be to debulk it, with the intent to go on and do radiation and chemo. (Base of tongue cancer is actually located in the throat area)

This sounds more like non HPV related oral tongue cancer - (the treatment she is receiving is the standard for this type of cancer NOT BOT) which is usually characterized by a lesion, or tumor under or at the side of the tongue within the oral cavity. Which is what I had. My surgery involved removal of the tumor, that area of my tongue rebuilt, a trache, 40 lymph nodes removed etc... If this is the case the wait time is even more scary because this cancer is very aggressive and could definitely have changed and spread in the 6 months. Hopefully she has had a very recent ct/PET/MRI since working off an old scan means they don't have a clear picture of where the cancer is now.

Forgive me if she's been having chemo - there is an induction chemo regiment that some people undergo prior to surgery and / or rads. If this is the case then the wait would make more sense since she was actually being treated.

As for the surgery, surprisingly, it's not too bad and a quicker recovery than radiation and chemo. (radiation is actually the worst) If they are keeping her in the standard 10-14 days. She should be okay going home on soft foods. I was out in 10 days and eating pretty well at the 20 day mark ( I went on a one week vacation to mexico to recover). I was perfectly independent once they removed my trache at day 4. Bathing etc... on my own.. though I looked horrendous - black eye, swollen face and tongue. Staples, stitches etc.. There was minimal pain as my face and neck were numb on the operative side. She should have someone around but 24 hour care. NO. She should be self-sufficient by the time she leaves the hospital. May need help with dressings etc.. and may have shoulder mobility issues and will need physio at some point because of the neck dissection.

Is she being treated at a CCC? Is hers an HPV+ BOT cancer or an Oral tongue cancer? She's waited so long for this I would hesitate to look for a second opinion or change locations of treatment but the wait and the treatment make me wonder...