I am a new member, but an 8 year survivor of mucoepidermoid carcinoma. I did not get many questions answered back when I first had my surgery and to be honest, I tried to ignore the possibility of recurrence. Now I am ready to take my head out of the sand and get some real answers. I have never smoked or drank, so that rules out those normal risk factors. I was however until the age of 18 raised in a very tobacco smoke filled house. I would like to know what other risk factors could have caused this? What is the occurrence rate here in the US? Obviously I am past the major risk of recurrence if I've made it thus far, but what are the actual recurrence statistics? I now have a benign neuroma where the sensing nerve to my lower jaw and tongue was severed to remove the tumor. I am experiencing more pain from that area, but my doctor is quite sure there is no recurrence at that site. What, other than a physical exam by my surgeon should I be watching for? There has been no scan done in over 5 years. Since I am highly allergic to some contrast dyes, I have not pushed for another scan. Should I?

I appreciate any info you can give me, and I hope my survival is encouragement to someone.

Shannon