radiation and taste

Rague said:

We're all different!
Taste (which had been totally lost while on A/C and Taxol) gradually came back while on rads. Appetite didn't til long after the end of rads. There are still times that I have to remember to eat (or Hubby remind me) - my last chemo was Jan 28 and last rads in March.

I never noticed any change
I never noticed any change in the way things tasted on rads or after rads. I think that would only happen if you were having rads to your throat or something. Ask your rads oncologist, but, I haven't heard about this with rads to your breast.

Hugs, Debby

Still having issues
I lost my sense of taste with chemo(4xAC/4xTaxol.) I had 4 weeks between chemo and rads and it didn't comeback during that time. About 2/3 weeks into rads my sense of smell started to be affected and by the time I was finished my sense of smell was completely altered. I smell things differently that thay should smell or not at all. My sense of taste is also still gone and the smell issues only make that worse.

I asked my rads oncologist at the time and he said what everyone says - your sense of smell and taste shouldn't be affected by rads unless it's to your neck and head. He blamed chemo. My medical oncologist blamed the rads. She said it was probably the rads since there was a small part my radiation that did hit the very bottom of my neck (it had to because of the angle they had to use to hit my chest.)

I finished rads last December and my taste and smell are still not right. My taste has returned a little bit - many, many things still don't taste right or don't taste at all. My sense of smell has also changed over time, with some things still smelling weird and other things not smelling at all. Although lately I've had some things smell normal for a short time and then go back to smelling stange.

My oncologist had an MRI taken of my head to see if there was some problem with my olofactory nerves, but it was clear. She also thinks it might be some type of nerve damage from Taxol, since I did have serious reactions to the drug and neuropathy in my feet and hands, which is a form of nerve damage. The next step is an Ear Nose and Throat specialist to see if they can figure it out.

I'll keep good thoughts for you. If your rads oncologist says anything useful, let me know. I'd love to be finished with this side effect!

Taste
I did have changes in taste through out the whole ordeal. To this day I am unable to get past the smell and taste of Angus beef. Even eating out I don't order beef since no one knows whether the beef served is Angus or White Face. I can't stand the smell of fish cooking either. Spinach even is not on my plate though I cook a lot of fresh spinach for hubby. Some tastes and smells get better with time or not. KAH

Taste
I really hate computer problems...

ladyg said:

I did not
experience any problems with taste. I did lose my appetite and still do not eat as much. I finished my rads early in July.

Hugs
Georgia

I never experienced this
I never experienced this with rads. I didn't have chemo, but, it seems that this happens mostly with chemo. I think it might only happen with radiation to your throat, head or stomach area, but, I don't know. I hope it goes away for you very quickly.


Sue