| | Joined: Feb 2012 Posts: 151 Senior Member (100+ posts) | OP  Senior Member (100+ posts)
Joined: Feb 2012 Posts: 151 | Have been intending to post and ask if anyone has had trouble with strange random smells from time to time. My husband is over 2 years out of treatment and really doing great but the last 6 months he will get a strange smell that last all day. Today he is smelling a candle that we often light and another day it was burning cardboard and the first one was a smell from fruity pebbles cereal. The smell wouldn't be terrible if it was just for a moment but it is strong and sticks with him all day and gets nauseating.
Husband diagnosed Oct '11 Cancer of the vocal cord Nov '11 removed right vocal cord. Neck Dissection, cancer in one node, .2, very small & contained) Jan '12 Radiation and Cisplatin, 6 doses. June '12 & Dec '12 clear Pet scan. April '13 Celebrating 1 year cancer free since treatment ended.
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Joined: Jun 2007 Posts: 10,507 Likes: 6 | Sorry, I havent heard of this one before. Never know what kind of after effects will pop up after having rads to the head.
ChristineSCC 6/15/07 L chk & by L molar both Stag I, age44 2x cispltn-35 IMRT end 9/27/07 -65 lbs in 2 mo, no caregvr Clear PET 1/08 4/4/08 recur L chk Stag I surg 4/16/08 clr marg 215 HBO dives 3/09 teeth out, trismus 7/2/09 recur, Stg IV 8/24/09 trach, ND, mandiblctmy 3wks medicly inducd coma 2 mo xtended hospital stay, ICU & burn unit PICC line IV antibx 8 mo 10/4/10, 2/14/11 reconst surg OC 3x in 3 years very happy to be alive  | | | | | Joined: Oct 2013 Posts: 559 Likes: 1 "Above & Beyond" Member (500+ posts) | | "Above & Beyond" Member (500+ posts)
Joined: Oct 2013 Posts: 559 Likes: 1 | I know this is pretty common in the area of taste during and after treatment. Some days something tastes good, the next day it tastes either bad or completely neutral.
It definitely happened to me with ice cream; even good ice cream tasted really bad for awhile. Thank goodness it tastes better today, but who know what tomorrow will bring.
I don't know the science behind smell, but I expect it has a lot in common with taste. So, that today you can smell that burning candle, whereas yesterday you couldn't doesn't surprise me in the least. It also makes me think it's not out of the ordinary or anything to worry about.
take care,
Tony
Tony, 69, non-smoker, aerobatics pilot, bridge player/teacher, avid dancer (ballroom, latin, swing, country)
09/13 SCC, HPV 16, tonsillectomy, T2N0.
11/13 start rads, no chemo
12/13 taste gone, dry mouth,
02/14 hair slowly returning
05/14 taste the same, dry sinuses, irrigation helps.
01/15 food taste about 60% returned, dry sinuses are worse in winter.
12/20 no more sinus problems, taste pretty good
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Joined: Sep 2006 Posts: 8,311 |
David
Age 58 at Dx, HPV16+ SCC, Stage IV BOT+2 nodes, non smoker, casual drinker, exercise nut, Cisplatin x 3 & concurrent IMRT x 35,(70 Gy), no surgery, no Peg, Tx at Moffitt over Aug 06. Jun 07, back to riding my bike 100 miles a wk. Now doing 12 Spin classes and 60 outdoor miles per wk. Nov 13 completed Hilly Century ride for Cancer, 104 miles, 1st Place in my age group. Apr 2014 & 15, Spun for 9 straight hrs to raise $$ for YMCA's Livestrong Program. Certified Spin Instructor Jun 2014.
| | | | | Joined: Mar 2014 Posts: 286 "OCF Down Under" Gold Member (200+ posts) | | "OCF Down Under" Gold Member (200+ posts)
Joined: Mar 2014 Posts: 286 | With a reduced ability to taste the mind overcompensates to some degree with smell. My sense of whether something is edible or not relies on my head making a connection between what it smells like with whatever the tastebuds are telling you, which often conflicts in weird ways. Odd cravings based on smell too.
But smell on its own? And this far out of treatment? I haven't heard of it or experienced it, but it doesn't surprise me, the brain does strange things. I'd experiment with a range of smells, it might ease the nausea.
Cheers, Dave (OzMojo) 19Feb2014 Diagnosed T2N2bM0 P16+ve SCC Tonsil. 31Mar2014 2 Cisplatin, 70gy over 7 weeks (completed 16May2014) 11August2014 PET/CT clear. 17July2019 5 years NED.
| | | | | Joined: Mar 2014 Posts: 25 Likes: 1 Contributing Member (25+ posts) | | Contributing Member (25+ posts)
Joined: Mar 2014 Posts: 25 Likes: 1 | Has he reported this to his oncologist? It's likely nothing, but unusual smells can be a sign of brain dysfunction and should always be checked out. Hopefully is it nothing and passes soon.
Spouse/caregiver to my husband:
Age 48 @ diagnosis
HPV+ SCC Stage IV diagnosed 1/14
Primary site unknown
Met to neck lymph node; 2" tumor resected 2/13/14
Completed 7 Cisplatin weekly sessions and 35 daily IMRT sessions 5/6/14
PET scan clear 11/14
CT clear 10/15
CT clear 10/16
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