I haven't had to have radiation or chemo but my tongue has felt as if it was burning from pretty much right after my surgery. My surgeon prescribed viscous lidocaine - it doesn't taste great but it helps a lot. I take some gauze and pretty much kind of soak it with the lidocaine and shove that in my mouth - just sort of leave it in there - right at the spot where my stitches are on my tongue - it takes a little bit to work but when it does, it is a HUGE relief. That stuff has saved me because the burning I was feeling was pretty intense and Lortab wasn't helping that at all.

For what to eat - I have a "Magic Bullet" which is basically a little blender system that blends 1-cup at a time. I became quite proficient at pulverizing chicken noodle soup to the right consistency so that I could take it through a straw. I also added a teaspoon of metamucil for fiber since all the meds can make you constipated. I tell you, it works like a charm and I was able to get all my protein that way. The Home Health people came by to check on me after surgery because they were going to teach me to feed myself through the feeding tube at home but I didn't need it when they saw how I was able to manage soups and such through a straw.

Gross as it may sound, I stocked up on some basic baby foods - I would use the green beans and sweet potato baby food and mix it with some chicken noodle soup and pulverize it in my bullet until I got it to the right consistency and that way I got my protein from the chicken, carbs from the noodles and veggies. The home health lady was a bit surprised but she said i was doing great. I was determined not to have the feeding tube when I left the hospital so that was my goal.

I use Biotene mouthwash and it doesn't irritate me at all - I also use their toothpaste because it doesn't burn like regular toothpastes do.

I have to be careful with some fruit juices because the acidity makes them burn my mouth - some tomato sauces, too...

Plain mashed potatoes were great when I wanted something a little more substantial but I still couldn't do anything solid... I also had cream of wheat but that can be challenging because you really, really have to rinse well afterward.