I am a newcomer to this site. I had stage IV adenoid cystic carcenoma. I had lymph nodes removed from my neck and a portion of my tongue was removed. I had radiation therapy after my surgery. It has been 5 months since my surgery and 2 months since my last radiation tratment. I am feeling frustrated because food is no longer a pleasure for me. Half my tongue is still numb and food doesn't taste the same. The dryness in my mouth is also no picnic. I wonder if any of these symptoms will ever go away. I would appreciate any info concerning these issues

Hi Elena
Banana's that taste and have the texture of wet cardboard and chocolate is horrid.. oh well...
Hopefully someone who has has radiation can give you an insight to that side of things, but the numb tongue, well, all I can say is after 13 months it's not so noticeable, I think I've learned to keep the food on the side that still has some feeling, I also had one side of my throat replaced so I still choke on some foods but even that is getting better I was told it can take up to 2 years to heal fully,
Hope this helps....
Sunshine... love and hugs
Helen

Hi Elena,
It seems that everyone reacts differently to radiation and that the recovery of taste also varies individually.

I've read posts on this board from foks 5-6 months after radiation who report they are eating everything and that the sense of taste has returned. Others report taking much, much longer.

My personal experience was that it took about 9-10 months before my taste stabilized. I can't say it is exactly the way it was before radiation but it is certainly much improved since all the taste buds were burned. My sense of sweetness remains compromised, I have to eat very sweet things to get a mild sense of sweetness. There were some foods I couldn't eat for the first year as they tasted too foul - fish, maple syrup, olives. Still can't eat olives. But, things improve with time and eventually stabilize.

At some point, I think you get used to whatever recovered sense of taste you have, and forget what things tasted like before radiation. Hope this helps. - Sheldon

Elena - The type and amount of radiation treatment seems to be pretty related to how much you recover and how quickly. I had radiation burns in my mouth for many months after tx ended. Now over two years after treatment I still have very, very little senses of taste or smell - but I had a ton of radiation.

From my reading here and elsewhere, it would seem that we head/neck cancer folks do forfeit some of the pleasures of food and eating - some more some less. But as the healing advances, the senses do restore themselves. Its just really really slow for many. I still hope to recover more sense of smell as the years pass. Be strong. Hit hard. Tom

Elena,

As several of the others have said, the rates and extent of recovery vary from one person to another, so we can't tell you whether you'll ever get back all of your taste buds or salivary function. However, since you're only 2 months from the end of radiation, it's not surprising that you still have dry mouth and problems with eating and tasting.

For me it was well over a year before all the numbness went away, and the taste buds got back to what felt "normal". I had conventional radiation, rather than IMRT, so the dry mouth persisted for a LONG time. However, with regular use of a combination of Salagen and Biotene products (and the ongoing effects of healing in my salivary glands), it has gotten much better. I eventually got back to enjoying the foods I used to like before cancer - and even started to enjoy some foods I used to dislike before cancer!

Cathy