Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsTypes of ChangesHow Your Provider Can HelpCombatting ChangeHow Long Do They Last?Frequently Asked Questions
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Types of Changes
How Your Provider Can Help
Combatting Change
How Long Do They Last?
Frequently Asked Questions
Someside effects of chemotherapy, likehair lossand stomach upset, are well-known. But most people don’t realize that taste changes are also a common side effect.
An estimated 50–75% of people undergoing chemotherapy experience a change in theirsense of taste.Chemotherapy, radiation therapy, certain cancers, and treatment-related medications can all cause changes in the way foods taste.
Changes in your taste and smell can make it hard to eat or drink enough. These changes can cause unwanted loss of appetite, low body weight, poor quality of life, and diminished well-being.However, there arestrategies that can helpcope with taste changes until they return to normal.
This article discusses different kinds of taste changes during chemotherapy and coping strategies to improve food taste until your treatment ends.
Justin Paget / Getty Images
Types of Taste Changes During Chemotherapy
Not all people will developtaste changes during chemotherapy. Certain chemotherapy drugs are more likely to cause it than others. Drugs such as carboplatin, cisplatin, doxorubicin, gemcitabine, and paclitaxel cause taste changes.
Some research shows that changes in taste occur on the tongue within the taste buds and in the brain.Understanding the physical changes that cause abnormal tastes will help scientists to explore different interventions that may help.
Taste changes can occur a few hours after completing a round of chemotherapy to days afterward. Timing varies from person to person, and there is no way to predict when it may occur. When people do experience taste changes, they generally experience any of four different taste sensations that include:
What Your Healthcare Provider Can Do
When foods taste different from what you are used to, there is a chance that you will develop an aversion to the foods or to eating altogether, which can cause weight loss and malnutrition.
Ways to Combat Taste Changes
There are some recommended ways thatchemotherapypatients overcome their taste changes. The following is a list of tips that might help mask the different taste sensations you may be feeling:
Bitter Taste
Metallic Overtones
Too Sweet
Loss of Flavors
General Tips
Taste Changes Should Be Temporary
Your sense of taste should return to normal after treatment ends, but it may take some time.Some people find that their taste buds are hypersensitive when they begin to taste things normally again, while other people find it to be a gradual process. It can take weeks or even months for your sense of taste to return to normal function.
Summary
Changes in your sense of taste are common with chemotherapy. You may find food tasteless, bitter, salty, sweet, or otherwise unpleasant. You may want to try making some changes to your foods and drinks to see what you can tolerate. If you have any difficulty maintaining your intake, be sure to reach out to your healthcare team.
A Word From Verywell
In addition to nausea and vomiting, having changes in the way foods taste during cancer treatment can be frustratingt. Your favorite foods may be incredibly bland or just taste wrong and this may make you not want to eat. Focus on your nutrition during this time so that you get enough fluids, calories, protein, and other important nutrients in your diet. Your sense of taste typically returns to normal after treatment is over.
Frequently Asked QuestionsCancer treatments can cause your sense of taste to change. While you are actively receiving treatment, little can be done to return things to normal. Once your chemotherapy or radiation is complete, your sense of taste will typically return over time.The changes that chemotherapy causes to your sense of taste will be different for each person. Experiment with foods, flavors, temperatures, spices, and sauces to see what tastes good to you. If nothing tastes good, work with your healthcare team to plan how to meet your nutrition requirements. Oftentimes, eating small, frequent snacks helps to ensure you are eating as well as you can.
Cancer treatments can cause your sense of taste to change. While you are actively receiving treatment, little can be done to return things to normal. Once your chemotherapy or radiation is complete, your sense of taste will typically return over time.
The changes that chemotherapy causes to your sense of taste will be different for each person. Experiment with foods, flavors, temperatures, spices, and sauces to see what tastes good to you. If nothing tastes good, work with your healthcare team to plan how to meet your nutrition requirements. Oftentimes, eating small, frequent snacks helps to ensure you are eating as well as you can.
7 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Silva PG, Barreto GA, Carlos AC, et al.Dysgeusia increases the risk for death and other side effects during antineoplastic systemic treatment for solid tumors: a cross-sectional study.Med Oral Patol Oral Cir Bucal. 2024;29(3):e398-e407. doi:10.4317/medoral.26389American Cancer Society.Taste and smell changes.Murtaza B, Hichami A, Khan AS, Ghiringhelli F, Khan NA.Alteration in taste perception in cancer: causes and strategies of treatment.Front Physiol. 2017;8. doi:10.3389/fphys.2017.00134National Cancer Institute.Eating hints: before, during, and after cancer treatment.Cancer Council NSW.How to manage taste, smell and touch changes.Breastcancer.org.Eating when you have changes in your sense of taste and smell.Breastcancer.org.Expert tips on eating well during chemotherapy.
7 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Silva PG, Barreto GA, Carlos AC, et al.Dysgeusia increases the risk for death and other side effects during antineoplastic systemic treatment for solid tumors: a cross-sectional study.Med Oral Patol Oral Cir Bucal. 2024;29(3):e398-e407. doi:10.4317/medoral.26389American Cancer Society.Taste and smell changes.Murtaza B, Hichami A, Khan AS, Ghiringhelli F, Khan NA.Alteration in taste perception in cancer: causes and strategies of treatment.Front Physiol. 2017;8. doi:10.3389/fphys.2017.00134National Cancer Institute.Eating hints: before, during, and after cancer treatment.Cancer Council NSW.How to manage taste, smell and touch changes.Breastcancer.org.Eating when you have changes in your sense of taste and smell.Breastcancer.org.Expert tips on eating well during chemotherapy.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Silva PG, Barreto GA, Carlos AC, et al.Dysgeusia increases the risk for death and other side effects during antineoplastic systemic treatment for solid tumors: a cross-sectional study.Med Oral Patol Oral Cir Bucal. 2024;29(3):e398-e407. doi:10.4317/medoral.26389American Cancer Society.Taste and smell changes.Murtaza B, Hichami A, Khan AS, Ghiringhelli F, Khan NA.Alteration in taste perception in cancer: causes and strategies of treatment.Front Physiol. 2017;8. doi:10.3389/fphys.2017.00134National Cancer Institute.Eating hints: before, during, and after cancer treatment.Cancer Council NSW.How to manage taste, smell and touch changes.Breastcancer.org.Eating when you have changes in your sense of taste and smell.Breastcancer.org.Expert tips on eating well during chemotherapy.
Silva PG, Barreto GA, Carlos AC, et al.Dysgeusia increases the risk for death and other side effects during antineoplastic systemic treatment for solid tumors: a cross-sectional study.Med Oral Patol Oral Cir Bucal. 2024;29(3):e398-e407. doi:10.4317/medoral.26389
American Cancer Society.Taste and smell changes.
Murtaza B, Hichami A, Khan AS, Ghiringhelli F, Khan NA.Alteration in taste perception in cancer: causes and strategies of treatment.Front Physiol. 2017;8. doi:10.3389/fphys.2017.00134
National Cancer Institute.Eating hints: before, during, and after cancer treatment.
Cancer Council NSW.How to manage taste, smell and touch changes.
Breastcancer.org.Eating when you have changes in your sense of taste and smell.
Breastcancer.org.Expert tips on eating well during chemotherapy.
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