Hi - One month ago I was diagnosed with Stage 1 SCC in the right side of my tongue. 2 weeks ago the tumor was removed (thankfully it was small) and 2 sentinal nodes and I am recovering well. Fortunately, the margins and nodes were clean. Unfortunately, due to nature of the configuration of my cancer cells and the fact that this is a recurrence of a pre-cancer I had 10 years ago, the tumor board at my hospital is recommending 6 weeks of radiation (5x/week) to reduce the risk of recurrence. I am meeting with the radiation oncologist next week to get a better sense of what to expect (short and long term) and to schedule my appointments. My doctor said the salivary gland on the right side of my mouth where the radiation will be will be effected but the left side will remain uneffected. He also said my mouth and throat will burn but that will subside over time. I am quite nervous and worried about long term effect but trying to find comfort in knowing that I will still be able to generate saliva on the left side so dry mouth may not be too terrible. I am looking to connect with someone who had a similar experience (and can hopefully tell me all will be okay and quality of life will be good).