Mike,
I had a stage II tumor in my left tonsil and had 35 IMRTs. I was a lot like you. I did real good up to the last week or so of treatment. I started to loose taste in the second or third week.

I want to point out that eating was an important "event" for me. I was not a great deal over weight but I loved to eat (I lived to eat). The third or fourth week, I began thinking that I would never enjoy eating again. It became a chore that I did to survive. By the way, I did not have a PEG tube because I only lost seven to ten pounds in the first four or five weeks(I lost almost sixty pounds after that). If I ever have to go through this again, I will insist on a PEG.

Now the good new! I started getting my sense of taste back within four or five weeks after radiation ended. Sweets came first and other things followed. I still don't like coffee as much as I did and I don't tolerate hot spices (I use to add Tabasco sauce to everything) but I can eat almost anything I want and enjoy it and I am only three months out of radiation now.

Mike, this is going to be a tough battle, you are nearing the front lines right now. As things get tougher, remember you can beat this and there is life after cancer! I am now able to enjoy food, I am gaining weight, and I am starting to enjoy life again.

Try to remember that three months ahead of you seems like a long time but three months behind you seems like a blink of the eye.

Stay strong, fight with all you have, and never, NEVER, give up! You will come through this stronger than when you started.

God bless,
Max