Hi Josh,
Glad to hear you are doing well! Your story sounds very similar to mine - diagnosed at 24 with no risk factors, HPV negative, stage 3, hemiglossectomy,chemoradiation, the whole bit. I feel like being young and getting this type of cancer was actually somewhat of an advantage, as you can bounce back quicker!

Unfortunately, I used to love spicy foods as well, however I can rarely tolerate any spice anymore. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it was actually the radiation that caused my intolerance to spice, not the surgery. But I feel like my tolerance is getting better by the day! I live in New Orleans and I was able to eat crawfish this season, which I was so excited about.

Hang in there, feel free to send me a PM if you want to talk!

Emily - 24 years old at diagnosis
HPV-, no risk factors
T2N2b Squamous Cell Carcinoma
Left oral tongue, poorly differentiated
Hemiglossectamy, reconstruction, partial neck dissection
30 Radiation treatments, weekly chemo (cisplatin)
1/13/12 last day of treatment
Diagnosed October 2011