Cal - I also had SCC of the left lateral tongue, dx in April '06, surgery at MD Anderson May '06. (see my signature for specifics) My initial problems were much like yours, had another medical problem earlier that year and at first they thought my tongue ulcer was related to that. Also had the ear pain- the nerves in your tongue are the culprit.

I am still cancer-free and hope to remain that way! This type of cancer can certainly be very aggressive in some people, and also recur, so your best options are good treatment from the beginning. Are they doing a neck dissection? That is to look for any lymph nodes that have cancer in them.

Keep us posted and use this site to look up all your questions - there is tons of information here. BTW, my husband had a herniated disk as well, a few years ago, could hardly walk or sit, but with a conservative doctor and a lot of physical therapy, he is fine now with no surgery...