I have a similar story to Jim above having had stage 1 localized tumor on left lateral border of tongue back in december 2001. tumor was removed with clean margins and neck disection confirmed no nodal involvment, no radition was done. just this past march (4 years from initial diagnosis) i had a recurrence with a smaller tumor on left side of tongue. it was removed with decent margins but most of my tongue was spared. just finished 30 radiaton treatments. i am not suggesting you need raediaon now but most importantly that you get followed up every 2 months forever. don't let them spread out your follow-ups down the road even if you are getting clean bills of health. microscopic cancer cells left behind can come back after a long time and come back fast. i hadn't even dentified my recurrence myslelf despite daily obsessions of checking my mouth. good luck