Ok....just now left meeting my surgical team and discussing treatment. I am scheduled for CAT SCAN and I will be having surgery on Sept. 11. The surgery will be approximately 8 hours long if all goes as planned. I will have a portion of my tongue removed. The cancer has invaded the muscle. I will have a trach tube in my neck while in the hospital. There will also be a flap of skin with a vein and artery removed from my forearm to become a reconstructed part of my tongue. Then they will take a skin graft from my upper arm to cover the place where the flap was taken. It's actually 3 surgeries by 3 surgeons at once. I will also have a neck dissection to check lymph nodes. If lymph nodes are clear.....I'm done except for periodic checks. If not, then radiation and chemo. I will stay in the hospital for a week to 10 days. Then recover at home for another 2 weeks to a month. I should still be able to talk and swallow. THANK GOODNESS!!!!! It's going to be a rocky road for awhile but the prognosis is good! 80% survival rate first 5 years. I'm Stage 2. I am very pleased with my surgical team. They all made us feel very comfortable and took the time to answer all our questions. This is routine surgery for them. Since the tumor is posterior on the side of my tongue, robotic surgery was not the best option since reconstruction cannot be done and swallowing be completely completely preserved. My head is spinning! Thanks for you advice and support. It is soooooo valuable.