I had partial left glossectomy in 1992 with 19 nodes from left side removed (all clear). The surgeon spent 7 hours by cutting the section in 3 small increments with sending the samples to pathology each time to make sure the margin was clear yet not cutting too much. When I woke up in ICU, I felt I had tubes coming out from all over my face and gauze stuffed in my mouth. Before the surgey, the doctor told me that I might have to have speach thepary and/or corrective surgery to improve speach. Fortunately, I didn't need any although it has been a long process to get back to near normal. Since the nerve on the tip of my tongue did not grow back completely, whenever I am tired, I feel my tongue is tired too and can not escape my chewing food. I could feel I bit my tongue but not very painful except there is a big gush of mark with blood coming out.
Something else came out during the initial head and neck MRI was that I had small growth in the back of head near left ear. The surgeon told me it is in a very difficult area to get to, so he decided not to remove it but repeat MRI every 3-5 years to observe. I had MRI 4 times so far since then, but the size never changed. I wondered how long I had this growth in my head? If I didn't have tongue CA, I would never had known this.
I think it is wonderful to have a forum like this to exchange information. When I was diagnosed 14 years ago, computer was not as popular as now and information I could find was very limited.