Jen, I don't think the neck dissection is going to add much, if anything, to your woes, and by then you will feel better anyway. I had practically NO pain, and when I got home, was out working in the garden the next day. It really is a cake walk compared to what you have already endured. Look at it as the last hurdle and it is all downhill and clear skies after that. My voice was totally gone for about 10 days, then a soft whisper, then suddenly occasional normal sounds and about two days after that normal voice. It is all going to be fine.

Cindy, your suggestion about what to tell a guy is priceless! You, too, are going to be okay as long as you are thinking like that.