The May 12 issue of The New Yorker features a
profile of Chicago celebrity chef Grant Achatz that explores the sense of taste, and how it works, in the context of his treatment for Stage IV tongue cancer.
-- Leslie
A rather lengthy article but found it very interesting.
Thanks
Gabriele
I hope that many people will learn about OC from this article ...
I read the article, even though it was long. What was interesting to me was how long he had this! It was going on for years, but neither his drs, dentists, or he pushed for an explanation... Scary stuff, when you think about how much better it might have been had this been identified early on...
I get the New Yorker but have been so buried in end of the semester work that I just now read the article (and even then I really only skimmed parts of it). A very well done article that was educational about the sense of taste as well as oral cancer as well as telling a story that is all to typical about how it wasn't diagnosed soon enough (and in his case he had a bizarre negative biopsy to falsely reassure him as well). They did mention the connection between oral cancer and tobacco/alcohol and I'm very glad that got in there as well.
I think it will educate a lot of people about tongue cancer who might never have heard of it before.
Interesting article. I had basically the same treatment, but with a Stage III tumor. I'm 16 months out of treatment and so far so good.
My taste experience was much different. I lost all taste of sweet during radiation, but the salty taste stayed with me the whole time. And sour and spicy hot are still a bit strong to me. Most of my taste is back, but not in the same balance, so I really have to think about what I'm going to eat now.
It's interesting how little they know about the sense of taste. The oncologist's primary focus was to get rid of the cancer and just warned me of the permanent side effects. Maybe more research will be done in this area.
My daughter cut out the article and mailed it to me.
Ron, my experience is more like yours than the chef. Salt last and first, with sweet still lagging. BTW, for me anything with salt in it, like a soup, was extremely distasteful because it felt like someone had poured cups, not pinches.
Just an update on the chef. Don't you just love how quick the press is to declare him "cancer free". I've had an MRI, a CAT scan and a PET scan and my doctors will only go as far as "no clinical evidence fo disease" while the reviewing radiologists insist on disclaimers: ",,,although metastatic disase cannot be totally excluded". But good for him. Nice to see positive press and acknowledgment of the challenge forum members face.
Chicago man named nation's top chef
NEW YORK -- A Chicago chef known for his ethereal cooking -- as well as the tongue cancer that nearly ended his life -- was named the nation's top chef Sunday by the James Beard Foundation. The award went to Grant Achatz, who in July was diagnosed with Stage 4 tongue cancer, underwent aggressive treatment to save his life and sense of taste, and by December was cancer-free.