Eating after mouth cancer

• A quick guide to what's on this page
• Difficulty swallowing
• Dry mouth
• Loss of taste
• Weight loss
• Difficulty chewing
• Changes in your sense of smell

Radiotherapy to the mouth and neck can make your throat very sore. You will almost certainly have difficulty swallowing for a while. This can be very hard to cope with and may get you down. If your mouth and throat are very sore from radiotherapy, your doctor will give you strong painkillers alone or with a protective coating such as Gelclair which helps to protect your mouth. Let your doctor or specialist nurse know if your pain is not controlled, as they can adjust your painkiller dose or try different types.

Surgery involving your jaw, mouth, throat or tongue will make eating and swallowing difficult until you recover. Swelling after surgery may also cause problems. After large operations, you will most likely have a tube into your stomach for liquid feeds. This will normally be a nasogastric tube. Or if you have had a stoma, the tube will go through this opening (later this hole will act as your speech valve). If you have a lot of swelling and it is difficult to move your tongue, you may need to have a gastrostomy (PEG) tube put directly into your stomach to avoid the need to swallow.

Remember - even if you are not eating, it is very important to keep your mouth and teeth clean. This will help to stop infection developing and will help you to feel better.

You may find a soft diet easier to manage if you have a painful throat. There is information in CancerHelp UK about a soft diet, which includes ideas about the foods you can eat and how to adapt your favourite meals.

Radiotherapy to your mouth and oropharyngeal area often causes a dry mouth. You may hear your doctor or nurse call this xerostomia (pronounced zero-stow-mee-a). It may last for several months but some people find that the dryness is permanent. It can make eating and talking very uncomfortable. If you have trouble with a dry mouth, your doctor can prescribe artificial moisteners for your mouth or stimulants for your salivary glands. You may find it helps to carry a bottle of water with you all the time, so you can keep taking small sips to moisten your mouth. 

Keeping your mouth moist is not just to make you more comfortable. You are more likely to get an infection, or tooth decay if your mouth is dry. So you will need to keep an eye on this and have regular check ups with your dentist.

There is some evidence to suggest that treatment with acupuncture can help with a dry mouth after radiotherapy to the head and neck area.

There is more information about treating a dry mouth in the CancerHelp UK section about mouth problems.

Radiotherapy and some chemotherapy drugs may also affect your taste buds. You may notice changes in the way your food tastes. Some people say their food has a metallic, bitter or salty taste. Others complain that all food tastes the same.

If you have had surgery for tongue cancer your tongue may feel numb afterwards and your sense of taste may be reduced or lost. There is more information about loss of taste and tips on how to cope with taste loss in the section on coping physically with cancer of CancerHelp UK.

People have often lost quite a bit of weight by the time they are diagnosed with some types of cancer. You may have had pain swallowing for a time, which has put you off eating. After your treatment, you need to build yourself up again. But this can be difficult if you are still off your food. There are some tips for adding calories to food in the diet and cancer section of CancerHelp UK.

You (or whoever usually provides your meals!) may need to think again about your diet. We are all so used to choosing low fat products these days that it can be difficult to stop when you are trying to put on weight. Remember to buy whole milk and full fat versions of yoghurts for example.

If you are really off your food, eating little and often is easier to cope with than a huge plate full. Ask your doctor to prescribe you some ‘meals in a drink’. These have all the vitamins, protein and carbohydrate that you need for a balanced diet. If you are trying to put weight on, you can sip these through the day as well as eating meals. They come in many flavours, both savoury and sweet. Available brands include Ensure, Fresubin, Complan and Build Up. You can also get powdered protein or carbohydrate supplements to sprinkle on foods and drinks. A dietician will be able to help you plan a suitable diet and give advice on supplements. There is more information about liquid diet supplements in the diet problems and cancer section of CancerHelp UK.

If you have had surgery to the inside of your mouth or jaw you may have pain or numbness, which makes chewing difficult. You may not be able to move your lips very well, which can make it difficult to hold food in your mouth when eating. Once your mouth has healed and the pain has eased you should be able to chew properly again. But until then you will need to eat a soft diet, probably for about 4 weeks. If you have numbness due to damage to the nerves in the head and neck, your problems with chewing may last longer. In some cases, people need to have reconstructive surgery or a dental prosthesis put inside their mouth to help them chew and swallow.

Some types of surgery and radiotherapy for mouth and oropharyngeal cancers will damage your sense of smell. Loss of smell can sometimes lead to loss of appetite and weight because it is no longer as enjoyable to eat.

Try to find ways to make eating more enjoyable again. Try eating different foods. Or ones with different textures together in one meal, such as cooked and raw vegetables. It can be difficult to be imaginative, but sometimes putting effort into what you eat can help bring back some of the pleasure of eating.