For the longest time, everything tasted like salt. It was awful! Even when I wasn't eating/drinking anything, there was the taste of salt in my mouth. I always drink bottled water and it tasted like sea water.

It's not nearly as bad now, but some things still taste extra salty. Ice cream (most of the time) still tastes gross, salad dressing...I had to use plain olive oil for a while, now I opt for sweet dressing like strawberry vinaigrette. Almost all fruit tastes too sour to eat, which really stunk this summer with all of the good fruits out.

We got some great apples from apple picking a couple of weeks ago and they were too sour for me to eat, so I made some homemade applesauce. It's especially good for the apples that end up with some bruises on them. I got the Ziplock microwave steam bags,used an apple slicer/corer and peeled the apples (you need a lot of apples for just about one cup of applesauce, though). I steamed the apples until they were very soft and ground them up in a mini food processor. Since they tasted too sour, I added a bit a brown sugar. If it was just for me, I would have added Equal or Stevia, but I added some brown sugar for the kids. It came out a bit thick, but you could just add some water to it to thin it out a bit. I suppose you could do the same thing with pears. I love those microwave steam bags. I've been using them for quite some time. Most of the time when you buy one package, there is a coupon inside in order to buy some more.

If you really like chocolate and it tastes too salty or just gross, try some dark chocolate. I like Dove brand the best. It's just strange what our taste buds go through, but for those of us on this forum who can still eat, we really shouldn't complain. Sorry to get a bit off topic here, but I just thought I would share some of my "masking" tips that have worked for me.

But when water tastes funky and makes you sick, that really stinks and I hope it passes soon!


37 y/o fem at Dx (23 wks preg @ dx on 3/16/11)
SCC L oral tongue (no risk factors)
L partial gloss/MND 3/28/11 @ 25 wks preg
T1-2N0M0; no rads/chemo
Tonsillectomy on 8/6/12 +SCC L tonsil T2-3N1M0 (HPV-)
Treated with 35 rads/7 carbo & taxol (Rx ended 10/31/12), but many hospitalizations d/t complications from rx.
Various scans since rx ended are NED!
Part of genetic study for rare cancers @ MGH.
44 years old now...I wasn't sure I would make it! Hoping for 40 more!