Lump on my palate

Hey everyone. About three and a half months ago, I had surgery to remove a tumor from my mouth—located on the left side, right where the hard palate meets the soft palate. It was a low-grade malignancy, meaning it doesn't metastasize, so no follow-up therapy was required. My doctor has given me the all-clear and says I’m officially cancer-free.
The catch is that my speech hasn't recovered. Even though my surgeon promised things would be back to normal within two or three months, it’s been three and a half, and I still sound incredibly nasal, like I’m constantly talking through my nose. My articulation just isn't what it used to be. I struggle with certain words, trip over my sentences, and if I try to read aloud or speak at length, I completely run out of breath. Does anyone have some actual, useful advice? Has anyone else dealt with something similar? How do you navigate daily life and function when your speech feels this broken? Is there a realistic timeline for getting back to normal, and can speech therapy exercises actually make a dent in this? Thanks in advance!

Keith Doyle33 said:Greetings to everyone on the forum. About three and a half months ago, I underwent surgery for a tumor in my mouth—on the left side, right where the hard palate meets the soft palate. It was a low-grade malignant tumor, meaning it doesn't metastasize. I haven't been prescribed any further therapy, and my doctor tells me I am completely cancer-free.
The issue, however, is my speech. Even though my doctor promised my voice would return to normal within two or three months, it’s been three and a half months now and things aren't looking great. My voice sounds nasal, almost like I'm constantly talking through my nose. My articulation just isn't what it used to be. I struggle with certain words, get tripped up mid-sentence, and find myself running out of breath when trying to speak longer passages or read aloud. Does anyone have any practical advice? Has anyone dealt with something similar? How does one manage to live and function normally with this kind of speech? How long does it actually take to get back to baseline? And can speech therapy exercises really help, and if so, to what extent? Thanks in advance.

There is an association based in Chicago that primarily supports patients who have lost their natural voices due to surgery, mostly those who have undergone a laryngectomy.
That said, they work closely with speech pathologists, so you should definitely be able to get some solid guidance from them— here is the link