Hi GG,

I don't frequent this site often anymore; however, just happened to see your post and wanted to give you some hope! I was diagnosed at stage 4 (at the age of 23), had a little over half of my tongue removed/reconstructed, chemo + rads, with somewhat significant speech impediment. While treatment was very difficult and took me a while to return to a new normal, I feel I have since returned to a normal, happy life. I am now 5 and a half years out with no recurrences, married, great job, and 33 weeks pregnant with a healthy baby boy on the way . I went to speech therapy for a few months after treatment, and have gotten my speech to a point where most people don't notice I have any issues (or at least that's what I tell myself). Many people in my life now have no idea what I went through, which makes me feel even more normal. I'm not going to lie there are still times where I feel alienated and very fearful of recurrence; however, those feelings definitely diminish over time. I remember a time where I was probably thinking about my cancer literally every minute of the day, and now some days I don't even think about it at all. Just hang in there, it does get better!
One thing I wanted to mention is that I too went through that period where I found myself breaking down in tears when someone even asked how I was doing, and getting on antidepressants really helped level me out. I only stayed on them for a few months (and had not taken them before or since), but I would talk to your doctor about it.
Hope my story helps you - good luck!