Find yourself unable to taste food after chemotherapy? Does meat seem to have a metal flavoring? It’s not a side effect to take lightly. According to Sarhill and colleagues, in a study published in Support Care Cancer (2003; 11:652-659), for as many as 20% of cancer patients, the primary cause of morbidity was malnutrition, not malignancy-and Jae Hee Hong, lead researcher on a recent study published in the Journal of Supportive Oncology (2009;7:58-65), says disturbances in taste and smell caused by cancer treatments could have a lot to do with that malnutrition.
“Cancer and its therapy,” Hong and colleagues say in their study abstract, “including chemotherapy and radiotherapy, may directly alter and damage taste and odor perception. These alterations affect the daily quality of life of these patients and may lead to patient malnutrition and, in severe cases, significant mobidity.”
What is this side effect like? “It’s been 3 weeks now since my last day of treatment,” says survivor kelani, “and I feel myself getting better every week. But I still can’t taste anything.”
After 33 treatments of radiation, a caregiver’s husband couldn’t taste food. “He only has a rotten taste all the time,” Gramee says. And fighter AlexiaC says, “I’m having a hard time finding anything that tastes good. I am hungry but nothing tastes right!”
According to Delicia Yard, writing for oncologynursingnews.com, problems with taste and smell can include the absence of these senses (unable to taste or perceive odors), reduced sensitivity (can’t taste or smell as much), distortion of taste and smell (where the person can’t identify what she’s tasting or smelling), and tasting something when it isn’t there, like a metallic, salty, soapy, powdery, or chemical taste in foods that are none of these things.
Exactly what causes this side effect can be hard to pin down, but chemotherapy drugs are known to blunt the normal turnover rate of the receptors on the tongue and in the nasal passages. Radiation treatments can do the same, and even tumors can secrete a protein that suppresses appetite. Though taste and smell problems hit people with head and neck cancer more than other cancers, it can affect anyone going through treatment. Unfortunately, the longer it persists, the more cancer patients find food unattractive-which can lead to malnutrition. In fact, in a study of 33 lung cancer patients, those who had the hardest time detecting and recognizing odors and flavors also experience the most weight loss, body-mass loss and nutritional deficits.
What can you do if you’re experiencing these effects? First, be sure to tell your doctor. He may elect to provide enteral feeding to make sure you’re getting the nutrients you need. Otherwise, try these tips provided by the University of California, BreastCancer.org, and CancerCenter.com:
- Avoid red meats if they taste metallic-eat more chicken, turkey, dairy products and casseroles.
- Try tart foods such as yogurt, lemon or orange Jell-O, or lemonade.
- Go for more flavor with spicier foods like enchiladas, herbed chicken or spaghetti (as long as your stomach can handle it). Add spices to foods like garlic, onion salt, and pepper.
- Suck on hard candies or chew sugar-free gum between meals to take away bad tastes.
- Maintain good oral hygiene.
- Eat smaller meals in pleasant surroundings.
- Drink at least 8 glasses of water a day.
- If hot foods are unappealing, try cooling them to room temperature or refrigerating. If smells are aversive, try blander foods like cottage cheese, applesauce, and sandwiches.
- Eat with plastic utensils to avoid metal mouth.
- Suck on ice chips between bites to help numb the taste buds.
- If canned soups and vegetables taste metallic, try fresh vegetables.
- Don’t force yourself to eat foods that are unappealing. Find alternatives that do taste good.
Do you have any helpful tips for dealing with taste and smell distortions? Let us know.
Photo courtesy dawnmcsmelly via Flickr.com.
