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Therapies to help nausea, taste?

Page last modified on: October 16, 2008
Question from LindW: Is there any way to use adjunctive treatment to diminish nausea and especially the altered taste effect of chemotherapy and Neulasta? For example, I had a piece of Italian creme cake 7 days after my treatment, and it tasted like licorice! Nothing tastes right. Is there anything else I can do to help with this
Answers —Beth DuPree, M.D., F.A.C.S.: I have had several patients who have had the sensation or the side effect of altered tasting after chemotherapy. Most patients experience a metallic taste during the chemotherapy session itself, and I recommend to those patients that they bring a Slurpee or their favorite flavor of water ice in order to gently bathe their mouths with a pleasing taste during the chemotherapy. As for an altered sense of taste seven days after chemotherapy, I am not sure of the cause of that process. But one would think this would be a self-limited process that will correct itself, as I have had no patients who have had continued problems once their chemotherapy is completed. For nausea, again acupressure can be used during chemotherapy. As many people have seen on cruise ships, the acupressure bands around the wrist are used to help combat the feeling of nausea that comes with seasickness. Acupuncture can also be very effective in combating chemotherapy and post-operative nausea as well.
Lorenzo Cohen, Ph.D: Different mind/body techniques such as guided imagery or meditation can also be useful in combating the nausea and other symptoms that women experience during chemotherapy.

On Wednesday, March 21, 2007, our Ask-the-Expert Online Conference was called Complementary Medicine Techniques. Lorenzo Cohen, Ph.D. and moderator Beth Baughman DuPree, M.D., F.A.C.S. answered your questions about different types of complementary techniques and how they can help during and after breast cancer treatment.

The materials presented in these conferences do not necessarily reflect the views of breastcancer.org. A qualified healthcare professional should be consulted before using any therapeutic product or regimen discussed. All readers should verify all information and data before employing any therapies described here.

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Meet the Experts

Lorenzo Cohen, Ph.D. is an associate professor and director of the Integrative Medicine Program at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. Dr. Cohen is conducting a number of studies to find out how complementary techniques such as meditation, stress management, emotional writing, yoga, and music therapy might be able to improve patients' quality of life during cancer treatment.

Beth Baughman DuPree, M.D., F.A.C.S.Beth Baughman DuPree, M.D., F.A.C.S. is a general surgeon. Her clinical practice is located at Holy Redeemer Hospital and St. Mary Medical Center.

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