Hi, My name is Connie and I had a stage 1 on the left side of my tongue. I had surgery to remove it. During surgery they sent two frozen sections to the lab while I was still under. When I came to I was informed that they had taken about 1/4 of my tongue. The margins were questionable, cells were right to the margin so the Dr. thought I should have radiation as"insurance". I wish I could have made the choice to have more of my tongue removed and forgo the radiation. My lymp nodes were ok as yours are. During radiation I lost 60 lbs. After two weeks I had not only lost my taste but everything tasted so very very bad. I did not loose any work time but often came home at 5:30 and went right to bed. I took about 6 months after radiation to gain any taste back ( they say about 2 months is the norm) My mouth was burnt pretty bad. The radiation killed my saliva glands and so my taste is still pretty low. I do a daily flouride treatment for my teeth and chew the biotene gum to help keep my mouth moist. If I had it to do over again I would get a second opinion. Why don't you consult with another Dr. before you take the leap at radiation. I had a ENT, a Radiologist and a Oncologist all working as a team but I suspect they pretty much all knew each other and went along with one of their decisions. Go to completely different Dr. with all of your records or find a good Cancer Center. Someone on this site can probably lead you to a good one. I have been cancer free for two years. I still cannot eat spicy foods because my tongue has never gotten back to normal. It is still sensitive. If you do opt for the radiation be patient, be sure you get good nutrition and keep a positive outlook. It will get better!! Good luch to you.


consue