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Medical Forum / Diseases and Disorders / Prostate Cancer / July 2008loss of sense of taste
It has been years since I posted here; Diagnosed March 28, 2000 PSA 39.6 Radiation treatment Hormone treatment Lupron Orchiectomy Now on chemo for several months and again lowering PSA..Now 5.11 Problem is loss of taste...I get the sensation of eating a lump of grease with a lot of different foods that were once my favorites and the sensation is disgusting and I am losing weight a little more than I want. Have others gone through this? any suggestions on what foods you were able to eat? Any ideas will be appreciated and tried. Allan Matthews (snip) > Now on chemo for several months and again lowering PSA..Now 5.11 > Problem is loss of taste...I get the sensation of eating a lump of [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > Have others gone through this? any suggestions on what foods you were > able to eat? Any ideas will be appreciated and tried. It appears that Allan is another of the victims of ignorant medics who either do not know or do not care about the side effects (SEs) of treatments (txs). The derangement of the taste sensation is very well known to well-educated medics. But not, obviously, to others. The very simple answer is to suck on ice during the docetaxel infusion. See this from one of the very best in the field: http://www.prostate-cancer.org/education/andind/Lam_TaxotereSideEffects.html Regards, Steve J > (snip) > [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] > > Steve J While it may work for some I tried the ice and it didn't work for me. Fortunately my taste is only impacted the 1st week. I wish I had other suggestions. Thai food tastes good anytime. >(snip) > [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] > >Steve J I am not the victim of an ignorant medic. My Doctor discusses SE to me with every step of the way. He is also in charge of all clinical trials for cancer research at the Medical Center where I go. I will try the ice, but it flies in the face of reason. Chemo targets fast reproducing cells. Taste buds are made of that type of cell. Chemo treatment works for several days, in my case three weeks, because this SE doesn't go away. Chemo does not stop working the instant the needle is pulled. I imagine that the reason my Doctor has not suggested the ice treatment is because it probably does not work most of the time. II do not know who Dr. Lay is or why one who is "best in his field" is on a website looking for donations. > I am not the victim of an ignorant medic. My Doctor discusses SE to > me with every step of the way. He is also in charge of all clinical > trials for cancer research at the Medical Center where I go. > I will try the ice, but it flies in the face of reason. Ice may be useful for a bitter or metallic taste, so it varies by type of treatment. Coping with taste changes are here http://www.chemocare.com/managing/taste_changes.asp There is no one magic solution for taste changes that suits everyone. (snip) > I am not the victim of an ignorant medic. My Doctor discusses SE to > me with every step of the way. If he does not know how to deal with this, he is ignorant. But ignorance is curable. All that is required is an open mind. > He is also in charge of all clinical > trials for cancer research at the Medical Center where I go. > I will try the ice, but it flies in the face of reason. Allan misunderstands, and I think that the reason is that he has not read my reference. Here's a quote: "In order to prevent taste loss, we recommend sucking on an ice cube during chemotherapy infusion. The cold on the surface of the tongue shunts blood flow (and the Taxotere in the blood) away from the taste buds." (snip) > II do not know who Dr. Lay is or why one who is > "best in his field" is on a website looking for donations. "Lam" not "Lay." Correcting the careful snippage, what I wrote was that Dr. Lam in *one of the very best* in his field. Far different from an unqualified "best." Dr. Lam is a medical oncologist and partner in Prostate Oncology Specialists, Marina del Rey, California. As the name implies, he and his partners treat only prostate cancer. They have patients all over the world. It is to be regretted that Allan is not familiar with the Prostate Cancer Research Institute, and seems unaware of its encyclopedic website and many services to our brothers in adversity. And its overhead must be paid somehow. Requesting donations (PCRI, not Lam) is not to be sneered at. On a personal note I'll say that PCRI will share in my estate. Regards, Steve J "Those who don't read have no advantage over those who can't." -- Mark Twain > Here's a quote: "In order to prevent taste loss, we recommend sucking on > an ice cube during chemotherapy infusion. The cold on the surface of the > tongue shunts blood flow (and the Taxotere in the blood) away from the > taste buds." So the tongue doesn't get any Taxotere? I suppose it doesn't make much difference anyway if he's got mets elsewhere; but FYI prostate cancer, along with other types of cancer, can spread to the tongue. < http://www.indianjurol.com/article.asp?issn=0970-1591;year=2008;volume=24;issue= 1;spage=112;epage=113;aulast=Damodaran J On July 29, J replied to me: (snip) > So the tongue doesn't get any Taxotere? > I suppose it doesn't make much difference anyway if he's got mets elsewhere; > but FYI > prostate cancer, along with other types of cancer, can spread to the tongue. What the author wrote was that the Taxotere is shunted "away from the _taste buds_." (snip) Regards, Steve J > It has been years since I posted here; > Diagnosed March 28, 2000 PSA 39.6 [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > > Allan Matthews Glad to see you again Allan; though extremely sorry of the circumstances. Yes, I have heard of this side effect. One of my subordinate supervisors described it as tasting like sh.t - literally. He lived on Smoothies. They were the only thing that didn't taste bad. They didn't taste good, but they didn't taste bad. Hopefully you'll get some first hand accounts here.  SignaturePSA 16 10/17/2000 @ 46 Biopsy 11/01/2000 G7 (3+4), T2c RRP 12/15/2000 G7 (3+4), T3cN0M0 Neg margins PSA <.1 <.1 <.1 .27 .37 .75 PSAD 0.19 years EBRT 05-07/2002 @ 47 PSA .34 .22 .15 .21 .32 PSAD .056 years Lupron 07/03 (1 mo) 8/03 and every 4 months there after PSA .07 .05 .06 .09 .08 .132 .145 PSAD 1.4 years Casodex added daily 07/06 PSA <0.04, <0.05, <0.04, <0.04, <0.1 2/12/08 Illegitimati non carborundum Hi Allan, In 1999 I was on chemo for prostate cancer (Taxol, Estramustine and Carboplatin). It was a 16 week program and after a few weeks I found that many foods were no longer palatable. I remember that bread in particular was a problem -- felt like I was eating card board. In any event, the oncology nurse suggested that I try spicy foods, particulary Mexican food. This worked for me. These taste/food texture issues resolved several weeks after the chemo hand ended, but in the meantime, I ate a lot of Mexican food, which I enjoyed. Regards, Bert Diagnosed 10/98 - psa 21, gleason 8. Treatments: Chemo, RRP, Radiation, IHT (lupron + Casodex) > It has been years since I posted here; > Diagnosed March 28, 2000 PSA 39.6 [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > > Allan Matthews >Hi Allan, > [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] >Diagnosed 10/98 - psa 21, gleason 8. Treatments: Chemo, RRP, Radiation, IHT >(lupron + Casodex) IThanks for ideas. I enjoy cooking and have a large international cookbook so will try Mexican and Thai foods. Allan Allan, I had the same when I had my 10 doses of Chemo last year and had plenty of curry and Chilli dishes. For me it was days 3 around 8 post every Chemo that I had the problem. Glad to say it goes away pretty quickly when the Chemo course ends :-) Cheers Bernie |
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