Hi Sandy!

Im sorry to read about your problem with saliva! The over-abundance of saliva and bad taste in your mouth is something not seen very often. That could be why you do not have the replies you had hoped to get? Dealing with a rare disease that has so many variables when it comes to side effects, reactions to procedures, medications, etc make each one of us even more of a unique individual who has their own ways of dealing with after/side effects and reactions.

In my 12+ years with OCF, Ive spent countless hours reading every single post since joining in June 2007. Ive interacted with tens of thousands of oral cancer (OC) patients/survivors and caregivers from all over the US and some from Canada or occasionally a few from other countries. I have only seen what you described twice. One person has dealt with the over-abundance of saliva and foul taste in their mouth for 14 years! In my travels for OCF, I have met and spoken to many of the top OC specialists in the country in Boston, NY, Houston, North/South Carolina, Nashville, CA, FL etc. At medical conferences Ive met many top specialists from all over the world. The things fellow OC patients/caregivers have asked me about that have stumped their own physicians Ive asked these top specialists. I also have discussed their random/complex issues with my own ENT who has about 30 years experience and as head of the otolaryngologists dept in my regional CCC affiliated hospital, he definitely knows his stuff. Overall almost every one of the specialists said the same thing... everyone is different and will have their own reactions from cancer treatments weather its surgery or rads. What a few of the specialists explained to me in detail seemed to make the most sense ... some patients will lose their sense of taste, or have an extremely dry mouth but on a very rare occasion someone could react the opposite of the dry mouth effect and have a significantly increased amount of saliva made even more noticeable by its sour/putrid taste. While I know its not much of a solution, theres a chance its only temporary. At least I hope for you its only temporary, that in time things will return to how they normally are for you. One of the people I know who had the excessive foul tasting saliva for only about 2 years while the other one has unfortunately dealt with this for 14+ years.

Best wishes with everything!!!