Unfortunately we left his first appointment with more questions than answers...in addition to the moderately differentiated squamous cell carcinoma on the right anterior of the tongue, they suspect that he has submucousal disease on the floor of the mouth on that side...I didn't quite understand if that means that they think he has cancer in the floor of the mouth too?? They also suspect lymph node involvement on the right side of his neck. They are recommending a partial glossectomy on the right side of the tongue (didn't give a percentage yet but partial means 50% or less correct?) with reconstruction tissue from his left arm, and neck dissection to remove lymph nodes. I don't know if any treatment is being recommended for the submuscousal disease? They will decide about radiation and chemo based on test results of what they remove during surgery. We don't have stage, TNM, or grade yet. They want him to do a scan as the next step in diagnosis and treatment planning.

Here's the part that scares me to death...my husband already suffers from Cerebral Palsy and Optic Atrophy. He relies heavily on oral communication. I am concerned about his ability to recover from the partial glossectomy. Sure, the cancer may be gone, but at what price?