Cameltchr,

My mother was diagnosed with stage 2 tongue cancer in June 02 and had one third tongue exised and a neck dissection in July. She was 84 at the time and came through the whole thing very well. She's now pretty much good as ever.

Surreal is a good word for the weeks before the surgery...and scary. We were in shock that my mother, who never smoked or drank, would develop oral cancer at this late stage in her life. In fact, at that point, we have never even heard of anyone with cancer of the tongue! We've learned a lot since then, especially from this forum and other parts of the OCF website.

Waiting is terrible for the patient and the caregiver. My mother was able to cope by taking Xanax. It took the edge off that all-consuming fear that comes over you periodically.

Your husband is young and strong and is in a good position to lick this thing. You can gain a great deal of strength from others on the forum who have been through this and are here to tell their tales and offer advice.

We are in western NC. Where in NC is your husband having his surgery?