Everything Tastes Wrong: — Taste Changes During Chemotherapy

Water picking up a metallic or unpleasant flavour is one of the most commonly reported taste changes, and it can make staying hydrated difficult. It happens because chemotherapy affects the taste receptor cells on your tongue and alters your saliva, so even neutral substances are perceived differently. Chilling your water, adding a slice of lemon or cucumber, or trying coconut water can help. Tell your team if it is affecting how much you are able to drink.

They can, and your team takes this seriously. When food is unpleasant or tastes like nothing, eating the amounts you need becomes much harder, and this can affect your strength, your recovery and your ability to tolerate treatment. If you are eating significantly less than usual, or if you are losing weight, tell your oncologist at your next appointment rather than waiting to see whether it settles. A referral to a dietitian with oncology experience is available and is worth asking for.

Platinum-based drugs — cisplatin and oxaliplatin in particular — are most strongly associated with metallic taste. Taxane drugs and certain others are also commonly reported as affecting taste and smell. But this varies considerably from person to person even on the same regimen, so the fact that someone else tolerated the same drug without taste changes does not mean you will — or vice versa. Tell your team what you are noticing so the pattern can be tracked over your treatment.

There is no single medicine that restores normal taste during chemotherapy, but medicines that treat related problems — dry mouth, mouth sores, nausea — can improve how food tastes indirectly. Whether any of these apply to you depends on what else you are experiencing alongside the taste changes. Do not start or change any medicine without discussing it with your oncologist first, including medicines bought without a prescription.

Zinc deficiency can contribute to taste changes, and in patients found to be deficient, supplementation recommended by their doctor may help. However, taking zinc on your own without knowing whether you are actually deficient is not advised — excess zinc can interact with treatment and cause other problems. If taste has still not returned several months after chemotherapy ends, ask your oncologist whether zinc levels should be checked. Do not start it without that conversation.

For most people, taste begins to improve within a few weeks of their last cycle. Full recovery usually takes a few months. The timeline can be longer with more cycles, higher doses or certain drug combinations. A small number of people find that some changes persist, and if you are in this group, tell your oncologist — there are factors that can be investigated and sometimes addressed. Most people do return to a normal or near-normal sense of taste.