Hello and sorry for your husband's diagnosis. Oral cancer is no fun but we all get through it. I'm still in the 'getting through it phase' but I have a majority of it behind me.

My suggestion is: get him a dry erase board and a few markers for after surgery. He will have a difficult time speaking and it is FRUSTRATING to not be able to communicate. I used mine after surgery and then off and on throughout my recovery and even some during radiation. I also texted what I needed to say a lot as well.

Good luck with surgery!

Laura Age 40
Tongue lesion on left side grew and was hurting in mid-August
Dx as squamous cell carcinoma on 9.18.18
Left Neck Dissection and tongue surgery, lost a fourth of my tongue on 10.1.18, tumor had grown to a T3
Margins were clear except front section of tongue margin had three stray cancer cells that were not in the tumor
Additional surgery 10.18.18 to remove another cm near where the stray cells were found
33 radiation treatments from Nov 2018 through Jan 2019