Mouth cancer surgery

Good evening Cala, sorry to hear about your husband, that seems a bit of a long wait for you both. I had floor of the mouth cancer in 2008 which also included a full neck dissection and removal of some teeth. A lot will depend on how much of the tongue has to be removed, recovery with these sorts of operations is very good and its surprising how well everything heals up as i expect he will have to have skin grafts etc to replace the affected area, he will be in some sort of pain or discomfort but on the whole its all bearable with pain killers always available. I did have a speech and language therapist afterwards to help me get my speech and swallowing back on track as it is surprising how much work the tongue does. Once he gets over the first two weeks everything will begin to settle down but it will take between 3 and 6 months for everything to come together with speech, swallow etc. Is he having a feeding tube fitted? There are quite a few on here who have had this sort of surgery so maybe they will add their comments and experiences. Wishing you and your husband all the best, take care.

                                                                             Chris x

Thank you @chris2012 , I think he will be having 50%of tongue removed and possibly a bit more.

Hi Cala There’s a few on here who have gone through similar treatment in the meantime. Hopefully they will pop on 

there is another group is your hubby under 60 ? This  may help you.  They are also on social media. 
https://www.youngtonguesglobal.com/

my cancer was Tonsil cancer with several affected lymph nodes in 4 years post treatment and happily living my life. 
Hope this helps. 
The waiting the worst part once a plan is in place and treatment starts things become clearer. 
Hugs Hazel x

Hi Cala

I "only" had surgery and am a slightly strange case in so much my cancer treatment pathway is anything but the usual one.  My tongue surgery was abandoned for good reason so I can't comment on that aspect - others are much better qualified than me in that aspect.  I have had 2 neck dissections and generally I found them easy to recover from.  Some longer lasting issues, but it is a slow game and by the time 18 months had gone by I suddenly realised that I was nearly back to before surgery.

None of this is easy treatment but it is very successful treatment with a high cure rate.

Hopefully someone will give you the rest of the answer you need soon.

Hi

 I had about 40% of my tongue removed, neck dissection & radiotherapy nearly 5 years ago. If there is anything I can help you with just let me know 

Hi Wendy,

How was the recovery? How are you now? X

The recovery from the op was okay although I got MRSA in my neck wound & had to go back in for 3 days. I was in hospital for 11 days after op and had a tracheostomy for 7 days. Arm in plaster where they took the graft from. Radiotherapy is tough but you get through it. Take the peg or rig if they offer it. It took me about 3 years to get to the best I'm likely to be so don't rush it. Speech affected but totally understood on phone or face to face. Anything else just ask

Thanks for this reply, its always good to hear from people who have gone through tongue cancer and to share their stories.. Lovely to hear you have made a good recovery. All the best.

                                                                           Chris 

Thanks Chris, fast approaching my 5 year mark!!

I had/have tonguer cancer but there was no waiting around. I was diagnosed at the end of March and was in surgery 11th April. 5 weeks after I came home from hospital I started radiation x30 which finished 6th July. I had partial glossectomy and neck dissection.  I'n back at work now.