Extranodal marginal zone lymphoma

Posted by rea721 @rea721, Feb 8 12:43pm

Hi, I was recently diagnosed with extranodal marginal zone lymphoma to the base of tongue and palatine tonsils. I also have Sjogren's Syndrome and Lymphocytic Interstitial Pneumonia. I received radiation therapy in December which I am still having some side effects like loss of taste, thrush, and my tongue and throat still feels irritated. I've asked my doctor about the loss of taste and she said it could take a few weeks for it to come back. It has been 7 weeks since I finished my therapy. I was wondering how long it took for others that has had radiation to the throat to get their taste back and does it ever fully get back to normal. Thanks

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Sue, Volunteer Mentor | @sepdvm | Feb 13 5:58pm

Hello @rea721. Radiation can really leave the side effects. Mine wasn’t centered at my throat but I had ulcerations on tongue and inner cheek and the strange tastes. It took 6-8 weeks for the ulcers to heal up and the thrush was treated and went away pretty quickly once it was identified. It took 2-3 months before taste started to come back and it was a slow process. Even now 12 years later I am hypersensitive to salt and cannot tolerate very salty foods. I assume that will not change. Are you currently treating your thrush?

rea721 | @rea721 | Feb 15 8:33pm

In reply to @sepdvm "Hello @rea721. Radiation can really leave the side effects. Mine wasn’t centered at my throat but..." + (show)

Hello Sue @sepdvm. Thank you for your reply. Yes, I am currently on Nystatin. I am 8 weeks post radiation and this is my third round of treatment for thrush. I'm hoping this will take care if it. I know thrush can also affect your taste so it may be contributing to my taste issues. I also had sores in my mouth from the treatments, but they cleared up around 3 weeks after my treatment ended.