No... I mean.. well No. Hi there... I am not sure where you are being treated, but it should definitely be at a comprehensive cancer center. Ideally - depending on how advanced the cancer is/was he should have had the tumor removed and then a follow up with rads and chemo. Has he had his nodes removed?

I had a stage 2 cancer, well to moderately differentiated that was apparently confined to my tongue. My ENT (top guy in his field) told me he was removing 1/3 of my tongue and 40 lymphnodes regardless of what my MRI and CTs said. His experience with this cancer is that it is sometimes in the nodes on a cellular level and, as such, isn't picked up on a scan. He was right.

He removed everything and then sent me on to have radiation and chemo in one fell swoop. 3 months of HELL but well worth it.. so far. (I hit my three year mark of treatment completion a week ago).

This cancer can be stubborn and deadly.

That said the staging most definitely matters. It tells you a lot about the cancer and how it should be treated. The differentiation is also important. The more aggressive the cancer (your husband's sounds aggressive if he's had numerous surgeries and its still hanging on) the more aggressively it should be treated.

You didn't give dates or anything so it's hard to answer this fully. But if his recurrences have all been within a fairly short time period, up to two years say? then I would say it is not only time to bring out the big guns (rads and chemo for sure) but also consider changing surgeons.

They may be able to remove the bulk of the tumor without removing his whole tongue. Then hit him with rads and chemo as follow up.

This all depends on the size and location of the tumor, of course.

I personally wouldn't count on rads and chemo alone for this particular cancer. It works well for HPV related cancer but is often NOT the only treatment used for non HPV related Oral cancer.

So I guess I am saying you really need a second opinion from a CCC - if then it is determined that he needs to have a total glossectomy then you know you have done your due diligence - and to be honest, we've had a few people here who have had full glossectomies and are doing very well. MissKate would be one of them - she can eat, taste, and speak. So it is doable as barbaric as it sounds.

Whatever you choose to do do it quickly. Hugs and again - welcome.