Nelie,

I agree -- I think your diagnosis and mine were fairly similar in a lot of ways, and I know without any doubt I've had fewer long-term effects from the surgery than from radiation. While I lost a portion of my tongue, it wasn't so much that it seriously affected my eating or speech, and most of the people who have met me since I recovered don't have a clue, based on visual observation, that I ever had this type of surgery.

Cathy