Docetaxel and carboplatin - taste buds knackered!

Hi PG78

Welcome to the forum and I'm sorry to hear that you have breast cancer.  My oncology nurse suggested using sugar free hard sweets to combat any taste issues I might have while on treatment.  I know others on this forum have used ice cubes to help prevent a sore mouth.

I made up a solution of water and salt everyday to help combat a sore mouth and that worked for me.

Hope this helps.

Wishing you the best of luck with the rest of your treatment.

Best wishes

Daisy53

It is horrible. I couldn’t manage hard sweets, lots do get on with them, but it just skinned my mouth and made it worse, ice cubes helped, in the blue bags as they’re more suckable. I found lemon flavours to be good, all citrus really, M&S do a passion fruit pannacotta I liked, sorbets, ice cream, porridge, scrambled eggs, chicken soup. To be honest, it all tasted dubious but it’s a question of the best of the worst if you know what I mean!! X

I found that my taste was not normal throughout and I had some particular foods I could not stomach at all. I felt like I was having pregnancy deja vu! There are lots of options out there to be found. In terms of drinks I found that something slightly tart like tonic water, or water with a slice of lemon was more palatable than water alone. Or add squash or find a fruit tea you like. I couldn't drink tea or coffee with chemo, at least not with milk.

In terms of recipes for wierd taste - there are some on this website, but also on others like Penny Brohn (another cancer charity). If weight loss might be an issue for you, this might also be helpful: I spoke to a nutritionist through Penny Brohn after chemo and wished I had done it during chemo as I lost so much weight. She was fantastic at suggesting good foods for after chemo and would have helped with my taste loss and advised recipes if i had spoken to her sooner. I picked up that a higher protein diet, small meal, and regular snacks is better than 3 full size meals. Penny Brohn will offer appointments for free, or with a voluntary donation if you can afford to and if its of interest. 

Everything did taste unusual but I found things I could manage and ate a lot of those on regular repeat! Citrus, pineapple and slightly tart things can cut through the wierdness. My taste buds recovered a bit before the next chemo though never truly perfectly if that helps. I hope you find the ideas you need. You will find your own rhythm and find your way to get through chemo.

Hi, my horrid taste lasted for about 10 days in each cycle.  I found pineapple juice was ok, as was cucumber and tomatoes were tolerable, so I lived on salad and lukewarm soup, as anything remotely temperature hot felt like it was scalding me! It passed, but I do agree, one of the more frustrating side effects. Good luck