Actually, you really shouldn't get five different opinions about which way to go--there are protocols for treating this cancer. They are linked somewhere here, I'll try to find where.

Like you, I had tongue cancer and had surgery and neck dissection. I had about 1/3 of my tongue removed. My nodes were all negative, but the tumor itself had some risk factors for recurrence so the opinion I got from docs at a leading CCC was that I needed radiation and should probably have chemo as well (although that was aggressive treatment for stage II cancer, I don't regret having it).

The surgery wasn't nearly as bad as I feared. I was back to speaking normally and eating pretty normally within a month. After you have your surgery, if you are not being treated at a CCC, you may want to get a second opinion from one about whether you need radiation as a follow-up.

Nelie