Hello Marie,

like your husband, I also have/ had (I'm not familiar with the correct terminology yet) low grade mucoepidermoid carcinoma (Stage I) at the juction of the hard and soft palate.

I was lucky to have a dentist who performs an oral exam with my check ups since the lesion was completely asymptomatic; I myself hadn't even noticed it. The tumor was removed 2 months ago and I was amazed to notice how fast my mouth healed. I wore an obturator (a prothesis covering the exposed bone) for about 14 days. After it was removed I could speak normally again. Fortunately, I neither had to have any teeth removed, nor did I require additional treatment, and need pain medication for only 10 days after surgery.

Although I was told that my prognosis is "excellent", there is a very high recurrance rate, and even my oral- and maxillofacial surgeon, who provided outstanding care, could not give me 5-year survival rates due to MEC being so uncommon.
Unfortunately, this is a rare form of oral cancer, and despite extensive research I haven't been able to find answeres to all my questions re. recurrance which is quite frustrating. (Actually, this is the first time I came across someone with the same diagnosis).

I can understand your frustration and worry waiting for the next appointment. When my diagnosis was confirmed by a second biopsy, I had to wait approx. 7-10 days for the MRI appointment, and then about a week for the results. Not knowing the extend of the disease was excruciating aspect.

I hope that this reply was of some help to you, and I wish you and your husband all the best. Happy Holidays to you, too.