Anne,

Depending on the type and location of radiation treatments, different people seem to have different recovery rates after it's all done. Did you have anything done preventively to try to preserve your salivary glands? Are your eating problems related primarily to dry mouth issues, or to mouth sores, or something else?

Back when I was treated (17 years ago), there was virtually nothing that could be done to try to preserve the salivary glands, and I went for a long time with extreme dry mouth that made it very difficult to eat anything other than soft, mushy foods. I lived for many months on things like Carnation Instant Breakfast, applesauce, pudding, yogurt, baby food, broth, ice cream, fruit smoothies and overcooked pasta with very bland sauces. I also needed to have water close by at all times.

When Salagen came on the market, I tried it and found that it helped increase my saliva production. I also resorted to chewing sugarless gum quite a bit, as that stimulated what was left of my salivary glands. More recently, when Biotene mouthwash, toothpaste and gel became available, I found that they helped as well. Over time, I've been very pleasantly surprised to find that my salivary function has returned far more than I ever expected. While the healing process was slow, I was able to get back to the point of eating almost anything I want to, including relatively spicy and chewy foods.

I know it's frustrating to be surrounded by people who are eating terrific food and are able to enjoy it. For now, just try to be sure your daily nutrition is what it needs to be with things that are easy to swallow. You should see more healing (and more ability to vary your diet) with the passage of additional time.

Cathy