My situation with this disease consisted of a primary cancer in a tonsil and 3 secondaries in neck lymph nodes. The tonsil was removed surgically and the lymph nodes treated with chemo and radiotherapies.
The radiotherapy sessions, of which there were 35, following weeks of chemo, ended early in November 2012. That is now almost 3 months ago. Many of you will know how radiotherapy kills the saliva glands after 3 weeks of treatment and how, in their death throes, they produce copious amounts of thick mucus for a few weeks sometimes. When this subsides, the less troublesome problem of dry mouth follows, and when not completely reliant on the PEG tube, the tastebud issue will be realised.
I've now rambled sufficiently to the point where I come to the title subject "taste buds". Well mine aren't good at all. They're well crippled and I'm afraid that they won't heal/repair. I do feel that they have improved a little, since I became able to take (some) foods orally again but I'm impatient to enjoy my favourite eats. Christmas dinner, cooked by our youngest daughter was a wonderful sight. I managed 5 teaspoons of it before my throat was in agony, and that was with the help of 'oxetacaine' which is a throat coating anaeshetic. But things are improving. Here in the final week of January only half my food is 'fortisip' and the rest is whatever I can get myself to fancy. All taken orally now - nothing down the peg tube. I'm sure that if the taste buds would improve, I'd be inspired to eat more and regain some lost weight.
