I had 3 scheduled Cisplatin treatments along with IMRT and it was no walk in the park but quite survivable. I responded so well to treatment that they cut the last Cisplatin Tx, so I only had 2. I am 27 months post Tx and cancer free.

I am confused though, most of the time patients have problems opening their mouths after treatment not before, is the cancer the cause of this?

I would imagine that they would perform those procedures under total anesthesia in any case.

Like Mark said the type of cancer your mom has is fairly uncommon here but we are seeing more of it.

Here is a link if you wish to explore this further: http://www.thedoctorsdoctor.com/diseases/mucoepidermoid_ca.htm

The statistics actually look a little better than SCC.