r/Eugene • u/cedar212 • 6d ago
Oral cancer Moving
I'm 70, but when I was 67, I was diagnosed with tonsil cancer. It is a sexually transmitted disease which kids are vaccinated for now. I received 10 weeks of radiation and 7 sessions of Chemo. I lost my taste. The things I loved like beer, chocolate, sushi and foods that I loved to cook tasted repulsive. I continued to cook because as a single Dad I still had 2 kids at home. (I didn't have children untill I was 46 and then 48). While the radiation saved my life it wiped out my thyroid, constricted and scarred my throat muscles, and scarred the muscles which control my opening and closing of my mouth. It also led to the extraction of 8 teeth prior to treatment and 2 years later at 70 all of my teeth. I'm now in the process of getting new teeth which takes about 9 months. But..... the bright side is, I got most of my ability to taste back. It's like heaven. Looking to hook up with others who have gone through this. BTW. The thing that kept me going and my focus was moving to Eugene Oregon from Illinois. Moved here a month after I got the feeding tube removed from my stomach. Best decision I've ever made. Love you guys.
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u/SatireStarlet 6d ago
That's amazing that you are finding a lot of support here. I'm glad you got your sense of taste back. That sounds awful to lose it. I don't have any experience with that. I kinda had weird taste things happening while I had covid. It was kinda the opposite of losing my sense of taste. For a couple of days things tasted strange and smells were overwhelming 🤔 I guess it was just because my nose was stuffed up but it was definitely strange