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Do I Dare Ask?

Head & Neck Cancer | Last Active: Jul 21, 2025 | Replies (20)

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Hi Al, I'm 4 months post-treatment. I'm still struggling a bit with swallowing, but I'm eating tacos, gorditas, burgers, and pizza... with a few modifications and patience. Right now, I'm super-sensitive to spicy and acidic foods, and of course bread/crust/tortillas are still quite challenging. For the burger (I can eat 1/2), I just did the bottom bun and added smashed avocado & mayo (not my typical burger topping, but hey! It's the first burger I've had in months and tasted amazing). I live in San Antonio (arguably the taco capital of the US) so fillings that work well are carne guisada (stewed beef in gravy), potato, egg & cheese (with really mild salsa), picadillo (mild ground beef & potato mixture), bean & cheese. I add mashed avocado/mayo to lots of foods. For pizza, thin crust and remove the outside harder crust for now. For any of the Tex-Mex, I'm also adding crema or sour cream. My speech therapist suggested making sure I smell my food before each bite, and it really does help me experience a little more taste. I haven't tried fried chicken yet, but I made chicken fried steak for dinner last night (lots of mashed potatoes, gravy, and summer squash). Fried catfish (dredged in cornmeal) with tartar sauce is tastes great and it's one of the easier things to swallow. I hope this helps you and also gives you hope. You didn't say where you are in the treatment process, but I wish you peace and good health.

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Replies to "Hi Al, I'm 4 months post-treatment. I'm still struggling a bit with swallowing, but I'm eating..."

Thanks Julie,
I'll try some of your recommendations.