I had cancer of the tongue when I was 24 and a final year medical student. It was treated by the insertion of radium needles for a week and I had little trouble afterwards apart from some temporary blockage of the submandibular gland. I had no loss of taste for 46 years but my taste began to go about 2 years ago and I everything now tastes unpleasant. Opinion is divided as to whether this is due to the radium needles inserted nearly half a century ago or whether there is some other cause as yet undiagnosed.
It seems a different story to most of those above; I had my problems when young but take comfort - I've lived a long time afterwards!