Food doesn't taste like it used to.

At some point, many people undergoing chemotherapy treatment notice that their taste changes.  People often comment on food tasting bland "like cardboard", or that some drinks / food has a "metallic taste".  Sometimes people also complain of having a horrible taste in their mouth.

A side-effect of some chemotherapy drugs is that taste buds can become affected.  We have different taste buds which provide us with different taste sensations, such as sweet, bitter, salty, sour and savoury. Depending on how many taste buds are affected at any one time by chemotherapy, a person may not be able to taste very much at all, or they may find they prefer sweeter or more savoury things to eat.

Finding something palatable to eat then becomes trial and error.  At different times a person may find different types of food more tasty. One day sweet things may be ok, and on another occasion the same thing may taste horrid!

Unfortunately there is no magic cure for taste change.  Once chemotherapy finishes, taste should gradually return to normal.  However, try reading these tips to see if they'll help if you are having trouble eating at the moment.