But did you know your gums may be sore or bleed during pregnancy, or you may lose some hair after you give birth? Treatment of other types of cancer with radiation does not affect taste as much as it does with those in the head and neck area.Pregnancy can do odd things to your body.Įveryone knows you may have morning sickness or experience weird cravings. A sore or inflamed mouth can also make foods taste different. Some foods don’t have any flavour until they are moistened. Having a dry mouth can also affect what you can taste. Irradiation of the nose reduces the sense of smell – a change or reduction in smell can also affect how food tastes. Irradiation of the tongue damages the taste buds affecting taste. Changes in taste or loss of taste mainly occurred with radiotherapy in the head and neck area. Taste changes occur in a third of patients who have had radiotherapy. The type of chemotherapy also influences the degree of taste change. After this period, further recovery of taste is usually minimal.
Taste often improves for one to two years after chemotherapy. The results showed that taste returned to normal around 3 days to 14 weeks after the last treatment. In another study, people with different types of cancer were interviewed. None of the women who had undergone chemotherapy had a metallic taste after six months. After a year, there was only a slight difference in taste changes between these groups of women. Six months after the last course, none of the women indicated that there were changes in taste.Īnother study in women with breast cancer found that 20% of women who received chemotherapy after surgery and 16% of women who had surgery alone experienced reduced taste. In the third week after the treatment, the metal taste had disappeared, but everything tasted ‘flat’. Chemotherapy and taste changesĬhemotherapy influences the degree of taste change.Ī study in women with breast cancer who received chemotherapy after surgery showed that most women experienced a metallic taste during the first 5-7 days of treatment. It’s important to note that each person’s sense of taste can be affected in different ways. Cancer itself can also cause changes in taste. The recovery of taste is generally greatest in the first year after treatment, but improvements can also be experienced in the second year.Īfter surgery, taste may also be disturbed for a while due to damage to sensory nerves (nerves that send information to the brain).
If you are having radiotherapy, the location of the treatment will also affect how long it takes for your sense of taste to return to normal. The type and length of treatment and the dose all affect taste. One person’s taste can also return more quickly after cancer treatment than someone else’s. Taste changes can be temporary or can be a long-term problem. How long it takes for your taste to return to normal depends on many things.
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