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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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I am seven months out of chemo. I had my right lobes two out of three removed and Tagrisso. I had gained 30 pounds while I was on Kimo because I was eating bakery and candy stuff and now they no longer agree with me. My diarrhea is better since I started taking Metamucil and I take an electrolytes cause of my kidney functions so it’s been a long road.
I have stage 4 esophageal cancer and had the surgery removal stomach gall bladder and esophagus along with 6 weeks of chemo and 8 weeks o radiation every day and have been in remission for 11 years now your taste buds may take a while to get straight my problem was everything I used to like I hated now and everything I hated I liked oh and I went from hating sweets to can’t get enough now I went from 6 ft 2 195 lbs to 105 lbs and now I am 130 lbs good luck
@mfr11946, such a good tip for caregivers not to serve regular size servings. For caregiver,s food can be more than just nutrition. Food can be wrapped up in many emotions, traditions, and expectations. We share food. We offer food. We associate it with sustanance, nuturing, celebration.
All that changes when you're a patient, especially a patient with a head or neck cancer. Food becomes a chore, a challenge, a pressure point.
@mfr11946, at 3 months post treatment, will be having a follow-up appointment soon?
So sorry to hear about your husband's sad situation. My husband had radiation 30 treatments, to be exact. His tasted buds were affected. But within 6 mos post treatment regained his taste buds' issues. Hang there. It does take time to heal from this nasty disease and all treatments required to heal. God bless, keep u and others in my prayers.
rlf66
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1 Reaction@becsbuddy
I feel for your husband I went through radiation and same I lost all taste, try to eat everything I found soups tolerable lots of different ones to try.
It took about a couple of months to get things to taste somewhat better a little familiar to normal some things came back faster and somethings not so much I have hope for all of it to come back.
I believe your husband will get his taste back it going to take longer and when you have hope you have something to thrive for.
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1 Reaction@hrhwilliam
My treatment was the neck. It's good to know that it will change and preferably come back. Thank you
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1 Reaction@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.
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?
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!
@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.