It’s not unheard of for a man to wonder if the change in the way food tastes is somehow connected to his recent radical prostatectomy.
The patient needs to make sure that this is not just a timeline coincidence.
“I have never had a patient report it to me that they experienced a change in taste of food due to prostatectomy in my entire career,” says Sean Cavanaugh, MD, a radiation oncologist with GenesisCare, a premier provider of cancer and urology care.
What CAN alter the sensation of taste when it comes to food is the chemotherapy treatment.
Another variable that can alter the sense of taste – in the form of making food seem bland or not have any flavor at all – is a side effect of the general anesthesia that was used for the radical prostatectomy.
This numbing of the ability to taste is temporary and should be resolved within several hours of coming out of anesthesia.
And one more thing to consider is the possibility that depression or anxiety in the days following the procedure may have an effect on one’s experience with eating.
Symptoms of Prostate Cancer
- Pain or burning when urinating
- Difficulty with urinating
- Feeling a need to urinate despite frequent voiding
- Incontinence
- Blood in semen
- Erectile dysfunction
- Painful ejaculation
- Swelling in the legs (note: this has many causes)
The above symptoms can have many causes other than prostate cancer.
But do not delay seeking medical attention even if you have just one of the symptoms.
None of these symptoms are normal and should not be occurring.
One in six U.S. men will be diagnosed with this disease.
According to the National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance and Epidemiology End Results Program, 0.5 percent of diagnoses occur in U.S. men 35 to 44, and 38,8 percent occur in men 65 to 74. For men 55 to 64 it’s 32.7 percent. The disease can strike at any age.
