Welcome to OCF, Andy! Congrats on finishing your treatments and the return of your appetite!!!
One of the very first things you will learn about OC (it actually applies to all medical conditions), is that everybodys different!. No matter how much patients appear on paper to be similar, no two patients will ever be exactly the same due to soooo many variables... its impossible. What one patient struggles with may barely affect another patient even when the two patients seems to be very similar. Every patient will respond to medications, treatments, procedures, recovery, etc in their own unique way. So many variables within a rare type of cancer diagnosis makes it difficult to compare or predict what could happen especially when talking about post surgical recovery.
Have you considered pureeing food? I know its not the most appealing way to eat but you have the flavor of things and it should be smooth where you can eat some things you previously thought you couldnt. I suggest talking to a nutritionist (as well as your doc) alternative eating for people like us who have had cancer making eating normally difficult or impossible. Since you just had surgery 2 weeks ago you are just recovering so you may surprise yourself and do better than you expect.
Even though all patients are different, most patients who went thru rads will begin to notice a slow improvement in their sense of taste around 4-8 weeks after finishing rads. This may come and go for a long time with you only getting the first bite or 2 being tasty then its back to the taste of cardboard. It can be a long road with the sense of taste being very slow to return plus either having an abundance of thick ropey gunky phlegm or an extremely dry mouth so bad that your tongue sticks to the roof of your mouth and is pretty much immobile until you take a couple sips of water. I dont know if its easier having only a couple random teeth or not having any at all. Im certain either way is quite a challenge when attempting to eat after rads.
I just finished writing a long reply to another member who also recently finished rads which you should find has helpful info that applies to your situation as well. Instead of reposting the same thing, Ill give you the link to that thread... Im also including the list of easy to eat foods. These foods should be a smoother texture, a little more bland and are easier to swallow so should be something you may want to try.
Best wishes with your recovery!!!
Link to New to Forum thread for other helpful infoList of Easy to Eat Foods
