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When will food taste good again after chemo and radiation?
My husband was diagnosed with a Stage 4 bladder tumor in early Feb of 2020. He started with 4 rounds of chemo in March and a heavy dose of radiation in March, at Mayo in Rochester, MN. After they determined this was the correct treatment, he began 5 weeks of daily radiation concurrent with Cisplatin chemo two days of each of those five weeks. He never felt nauseated. Never got sores in his mouth. However, his taste buds went haywire. Everything under the sun tasted disgusting.
The odd thing is that he is now just about 3 months past his last Cisplatin chemo treatment and radiation, yet his taste has gotten worse. He can't stand even looking at food. He has dropped 25 pounds since treatment started. The dietician told me to give him six small meals a day. He can't even stand to put something in his mouth once a day.
Sometimes I can get a quarter cup of cottage cheese with canned peaches in him. Other times a half cup of mashed potatoes. Bran cereal in the morning. But no matter what I try he says it's torture getting it down because it all tastes so terrible. I am having him drink Boost 20 gr protein drinks 3 times a day and an considering pushing 4 a day on him. He hates them, too, because they are way too sweet, but he can gulp them down quickly. However, he has to immediately follow the drink with three green olives, to get the sweet taste out of his mouth.
I've tried everything... gargling with water/baking soda/salt before eating. Gargling with black tea before eating. Giving him sauerkraut and other non-sweet foods. (He absolutely hates any meat because he has to chew it). I've given him bean with bacon soup but I have to puree it first, so he can quickly drink it down.
I've been on the phone so many times with dieticians and doctors from Mayo, and they all say this won't last forever. But when his treatment ended they said, "Expect another month or so when your taste is still bad." It's been three months, and I swear, it's gotten worse the last few weeks.
Has anyone ever gone this long with tastebuds totally messed up? My husband is beginning to think this is going to be what it's like for the rest of his life!
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@rrtdave
During my chemo, my girl friends all concerned about providing me with a healthy diet. Very nice of her but I didn't want to eat anything. My Oncologist said "No no no!" He can eat anything and everything. Just need calories.
@randman
Thanks for info. I too am not getting enough food; nothing tastes right and I have no hunger. Been doing premier protein a couple times a day and at least one decent meal as tolerated, also a complete vitamin..like I need another pill, right. Thanks!! Dave
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1 ReactionI’ve had cancer over 19 years now, the past 13 terminal. I’ve had a few stem cell transplants plus about 150 other treatments or so, probably more.
The food thing is very difficult. I’m sure he won’t take food for granted after this ordeal!!
Food will never be the same after this for him but that doesn’t mean it won’t ever be good. Hopefully he’s done with treatment. The thing he needs most is the hardest thing to be patient for, he needs time. I think eventually things will start coming around but it’ll be gradual. His sense of smell will probably change a little too. Nothing will be 100 percent, if you are doing chemo you are damaging nerves throughout your body, nerves that affect muscle reflexes like when they tap your knee with the rubber hammer are affected. I remember finishing ABVD chemo, 8 treatments, not an even a year into it and they checked that nerve reflex in my knee, guess what, my leg wasn’t kicking anymore!! Those nerves were pretty much dead. It doesn’t take much treatment and your nerves start to show change, your taste is one of the changes. Keep a good attitude, there’s a really good chance that his taste will improve, so look toward that. Being realistic is very important when fighting cancer, remember that most changes aren’t all at once and that there’s a chance it’ll never be what his taste was before cancer.
@randman yeah, with chemo you eat whatever the hell you want, it’s already bad enough doing chemo, eating “Healthy” just adds insult to injury.
If you want to eat s’mores and ice cream cones then you go ahead and eat’em. Chemo is a terrible bargain, you get poisoned and suffer like hell with the hopes the cancer will die while you barely survive it. It totally sucks so you do whatever the Hell you think will make it more manageable for yourself. Tell your girlfriend to make you a cake, she needs to feed a little bit everyday!
You’re lucky man, I did this all single, having someone to make me meals would be nice.
There is a newer version of cisplatin that they might consider using. It’s called carboplatin. I used it for several months and never once experienced appetite issues, nor did I experience any significant nausea or other annoying side effects from it. I would at least ask my doctor, whether that would be an option to try as opposed to cisplatin!
Hello,
I am 4 months past my last radiation treatment, since then I have no taste either. No matter what I try. I make a desert with lemon pudding and cool whip, I can barely taste the hint of lemon and the cool whip taste like chalk. Not good.. My throat isn't sore so I can eat anything but it's just not enjoyable. What does everyone else eat?
@tkdino123 Radiation treatment seems to have that effect on taste, particularly if the treatment is at or near the head or neck. It affects your smell sense as well as taste and in many cases it seems the change is permanent. The lack of these senses usually goes away after weeks or months or even a year or two, again depending upon where the treatment was targeted.
In my case some foods I never cared for prior became now my favorite flavors whilst other foods, particularly sweet foods I no longer enjoy. And yes, Coolwhip is just bloody awful now yet canned dairy whip is a favorite. Also real maple syrup is great yet imitation syrup with corn based sweetener is off the shopping list.
Your taste will change.
@hrhwilliam
My treatment was the neck. It's good to know that it will change and preferably come back. Thank you