Hi All,
Thank you for your kind replies!
I'm a month out of surgery and can honestly say it was the hardest thing I've ever done. The good news is my healing is ahead of schedule. My voice and swallowing are still intact.
I don't know if anyone truly understands this disease unless they've lived it.
Not the surgeons, nurses, anyone. I plan on going back to Mayo once Im
better and offering my advice, whether they want it or not.
Thank goodness, the pain has not been an issue. The cancer pain was far worse than anything caused from surgery. I didn't even need morphine following surgery and was up and walking without assistance in 24 hours. Liquid Tylenol has been all I've used in 3 weeks.
Even without my voice I managed to get I to an argument with swallowing technician who insisted I needed a scope to determine whether or not I could swallow despite the fact I'd been eating solid food for 4 days. I left refusing to do test. She called dr who saw me in cafeteria getting lunch. He quickly took me back to remove nasal
feeding tube. I guess what pisses me off the most is not
having a voice or being treated like an individual. The treatment of this disease
is one size fits all which fits me as well as the stupid hospital gown that I had to wrap around myself twice to cover my 100 lb.
body.
Sorry. I'm rambling and venting. Not talking for almost a month has left me with a lot to say!!

2010-surgery for stage 2 squamous cell carcinoma of right lateral tongue. Partial glosectomy with right neck dissection. Clear margins
2012-return of cancer to same area of tongue. Surgery with removal of 2 molars which irritated tongue. Clear margins again.
2013-return of cancer to tongue, floor of mouth and jaw where teeth were
extracted. Rad and chemo suggested - I declined.
2/2015-Mandible fibula, free flap surgery. My leg is truly in my mouth 😆