Jennifer, I believe I have also read stories on this site of others with glossectomies who have regained their speech.

Have you gotten a second opinion? If it was me, I would definitely get at least one more, to find out if there are other doctors in your area who say speech again is possible.

Tammy is completely right about a CCC, a Comprehensive Cancer Center. That's the first place I would go for a second opinion and you have one there in Boston, the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center.

Re the TEP, Tammy referred to it as a "Trans Esophageal Prosthesis", here in the U.S. it stands for tracheoesophageal puncture, which is the name of the surgery which is done before the prosthesis can be used. It's a simple procedure; the doctor simply punctures a small hole in the wall between the trachea and esophagus. When mine was done, I checked into the hospital in the morning and was back home that afternoon. They placed a catheter through the hole to keep it from closing back up and to allow the tissue around it to heal. About 10-14 days later, the Speech Pathologist removed the catheter and inserted a prosthetic valve (there are several different types). As soon as he had it in, I was able to speak immediately. Eureka!

Re your humidifier question, I use a Crane model EE-5200W that's worked well for me for quite a few years. It's a good model for the bedroom and I refill it every night before bedtime. It probably wouldn't work quite as well for a large room though.

Hope that helps. I'm glad you've reached out to support groups in your area. Best wishes and hang in there.