hello again Rhonda,
I am 11 weeks out of radiation and about 75% of my taste has come back, I still have a hard time tasting salt and since I had cancer in the right tonsil also me and leon probably were radiated close to the same spot and taste buds that taste salt are on the sodes of the tongue, I had my peg tube removed about three weeks ago and I am eating most everything however I also avoid the drier meats like pork and chicken, I eat lots of salads and fish and steak cooked on the rare side seems to work well, I still have some difficulty swallowing , but I have been told by my surgeon that is from internal scar tissue from neck dissection, I must make sure things are cut small and well chewed, chewing is sometimes a problem because my teeth are often sore, but I was fortunate and did not have to have any pulled before I began treatment. All in all my doctors think that i am ahead of the curve with my recovery and hopefully leon will be lucky in his recovery, I will say that the 2-3 weeks after radiation ended were really rough but hang in there it does get better, still have the dry mouth issue in a major way at night when trying to sleep but saliva glands seem to be improving. You must understand also that functioning saliva glads are also tied into fully functioning taste buds, the two seemingly seperate functions are in fact very related to one another. all of that being said I must say things are better every day and my main complaints are effects of surgery, numbness, stiff and tight neck and some swallowing issues, those too I hope will continue to improve. Rhonda best of luck to you and Leon just keep pushing ahead with no looking back. Just try to keep things in perspective with healing, you must think in terms of months and not weeks. Good luck.
lenny