Marlene,
Sorry to read about your diagnosis, my thoughts and prayers are with you.
So...
What blood thinner do you take?
Have the doctors discussed changing or stopping it prior to surgery?
.."between the roots is soft tissue, not bone, so something is going on.
All recommended removing the lesion."
Have you had or do you have periodontal disease (gum disease)?
As for swelling, usually the most swelling occurs 24 hours post surgery and can last for a few days or weeks depending on the size of the area involved in the surgery and the degree of insult to the blood vascular system and lymphatics in the area. Simply, if arteries, veins and lymphatics were ligated or removed during the surgery the bodies ability to eliminate swelling is reduced in that area. Surgeons place drains as a rule when they have interrupted these processes to remove excess fluids causing the swelling. Discuss this with your doctors.
Recovery time depends on the severity of the surgery and a lot on the patient. If you have a "nothing brings me down" attitude then you will probably recover and cope much better than a person who assumes the worst and doesn't cope well. Some people have minor surgeries and are down for months others who undergo radical surgical procedures are quick to resume as much of a normal life as they can so surgery aside, your spirit, strength and perserverence has a lot to do with recovery.
Ditto on the soft diet and chewing, varies for different people.
Implants depend on bone. If you have good bone in the area then implants are a great option. I you are lacking bone then bone can often times be grafted into the area to accomodate implants. Once again talk to your doctors and make sure you get the specific answers to your questions. They may not be able to give you a rock solid answer until after the surgery.
Your speech will depend on the area involved in the surgery and if any nerves may be involved.
If your tongue and lips are not in the area and your throat and vocal chords are spared you should experience no changes barring some discomfort and muscle changes due to the surgery. Ask your doctors.
I always suggest to my patients that they keep a journal and write down all of their questions. Bring it to your appointments and ask the questions. Write down the answers so you can read it later. Don't be afraid to ask your docs to slow down or explain something they are used to this.
Please contact me if you need to.
I hope this is of some use to you.
All the best!!
Mike