Well, today marks the 3 week point since I had my hemiglossectomy, modified neck dissection and my radial free flap reconstruction done. My swelling is limited now to my right jaw line and still a bit in my left hand where the flap was from but my flap still feels like it's 3 feet thick! It is still stitched down to the right bottom teeth but I am managing to eat fairly well with some good placement with my fingers and very carful chewing. Can anyone out there tell me how long it takes before the flap starts to feel a bit more normal???

Of course I still am waiting for my pathology results-I won't get them until the 20th when I return to London's Head and Neck Oncology Center. They did remove 30 nodes but my surgeon told my husband after surgery that by eye, the nodes looked good, even the enlarged one. But I am still preparing for RT, especially since the toungue cancer was a recurrence of my SCC Stage 1 from 2003.

I guess I am just trying to adjust to my new "normal" and I would appreciate any input. My speech is quite clear, all the Docs were happy with that-I can even speak quite clearly on the phone.

Anyway, thanks for listening and for all you helpful info-it sure makes me realize that I am not alone in this journey.

God Bless you all-Betsy