Micki,

About 4 week into radiation I lost all semblance of taste. Everything tasted like corrugated cardboard. That continued till about 4 months past radiation. At that point the first taste i noticed was salt. I put salt on anything just to have some form of taste. Over the next two year I sloooooowly expanded into sour and savory. Sweet is another story. I really cant tell if can taste sweet or not. I don't think i can tell vanilla ice cream from chocolate ice cream. But I do still enjoy ice cream.

Critics fruits are also a mystery; oranges, tangerines, grape fruit are all the same but mostly taste like nothing. It is funny though, I cant really taste them but I do still eat them. Its kind of like you body want them even though your tongue does not know what they are.

For the past 6 years I don't think there has been much change in my tasting ability. At first it did bother me, but not anymore. It does not bother me at all.

Mildly spicy foods to some, are still extremely spicy to me. However I do believe I can tolerate "hotter" food today than 4 years ago.

I guess what i am saying is that, it is likely that his taste will recover somewhat. But over time his body/mind adjust and everything pretty much feels normal again. I am 8 years out and it does not bother me at all. Life is good.