Part 18. Food Texture and Mouth and Throat Cancer

 

TEXTURE PLAYED AN IMPORTANT PART IN SWALLOWING AFTER CANCER TREATMENT

It's difficult for people to understand how much the pleasure of taste affects their well-being.

The human sense of taste plays a significant role in our overall well-being, yet its importance is often overlooked. As someone who underwent ENT cancer treatment, I experienced the side effect of losing my taste buds. Waiting for them to grow back was only part of the process; I also had to retrain my taste buds to recognize flavors as well. 

To illustrate, imagine closing your eyes and taking a spoonful of ice cream: I couldn't tell if it was ice cream or cardboard without seeing it: I couldn't tell if it was ice cream or cardboard by taste alone. It was a strange and unsettling experience and made me appreciate the simple pleasure of taste more than ever before.

 

Texture played a vital role in my recovery. It not only helped me understand my swallowing ability but also enabled me to identify which foods I could eat and which ones would cause me to choke. For example, I was amazed that when I was able to eat again for MY NOW NORMAL (Years Later) that when dining on a roast leg of Pork I could eat the rind but choke on the meat. it came down to the texture of what I was eating. The rind (crackling)would do just that break up into small pieces which I could then swallow. The meat on the other hand would "Ball" up and basically form a "Plug" which I could not swallow.

.TIP - ALWAYS FLUSH EACH BITE WITH FLUID.

FOODS I AVOIDED

1. Fresh Bread

2. Steak and mince (yes Mince even though it is minced it still has a tendency to "Ball up")

3. Pork meat

4. Anything that their TEXTURE would cause it to compress together.

FOODS I COULD EAT

1. The Bread Toasted more toasted the better !

Lamb medium rare (if cut Thin) can be eaten with care.

3. Bacon well done.

4. All fish

5. All vegetables

6. Eggs with care.

7. Chicken tender parts wings and thigh pieces Avoid Breast meat.

I was previously a big meat eater which made it very difficult to change my diet, for now, most of my protein needs I now have to source through fish and vegetables.

TIP ALWAYS HAVE LOTS OF GRAVY WITH ANY MEATS TO HELP SWALLOWING.

Be prepared to feel full sooner as in my case I have to wash most bites down so my stomach fills with fluid this helps to also maintain my weight in a sensible weight range.

ALWAYS CHECK WITH YOUR DIETICIAN AS YOUR QUANTITY OF FOOD IS REDUCED SO 

QUALITY IS VERY IMPORTANT

My next episode goes into detail about taste I never knew before having cancer of the throat and mouth.

PREVIOUS EPISODE                 NEXT EPISODE               BACK TO HOME PAGE

HELP AND SUPPORT LINKS