Managing Treatment Side Effects Impacting the Mouth
Actor Stanley Tucci was diagnosed with cancer after a tumor was found at the base of his tongue. He received several rounds of chemotherapy and radiation therapy to help treat the cancer.
Radiation therapy uses ionizing energy, which travels through the body and damages DNA. While cancer cells are the focus, sometimes healthy tissues near the cancer cells are also impacted, which can cause treatment side effects.
Tucci developed mouth sores, impacting his ability to taste and swallow after treatment long after treatment ended.
Chemotherapy and radiation may have noticeable side effects on a patient’s mouth, impacting taste buds, tongue swelling, and sensitivity in the teeth and gums.
Your doctor may have helpful medications and recommendations to make the side effects more tolerable. Patients receiving cancer treatment must maintain good oral hygiene so bacteria does not build up while the immune system is weakened.
Stanley Tucci, 64, is serving up culinary excellence in his hit show Searching For Italy, but behind the scenes, the beloved Devil Wears Prada actor is facing a personal challenge. After undergoing cancer surgery that affected his throat, Tucci admits that taste testing the rich flavors of the cuisines isn’t as effortless as it once was.
Tucci shared an Instagram video of him inside a Lombardy kitchen filled with fresh seafood. “We’re lucky to be filming here,” Tucci said in the video.
While the popular culinary show is mouthwatering, the award-winning actor admits he cannot always enjoy the finished dishes from some of the best chefs on the planet because of his thyroid cancer diagnosis and subsequent surgery roughly a decade earlier.
“It affected my relationship with food instantly because I had high-dose radiation and chemotherapy, and I couldn’t eat,” Tucci told People Magazine.
Stanley Tucci (above cooking pasta) was diagnosed with tongue cancer right around the time he started to rebrand himself as a gastronomist.
“Eating a sandwich takes me three times longer than it used to,” Tucci said.
He adds that steaks are difficult to eat and that he “can’t swallow everything,” a tough compromise for the self-proclaimed foodie who has since turned his love of food and cooking into his next big project.
Tucci’s cancer diagnosis emerged after he started feeling recurring fatigue.
“I would be so tired in the afternoon, like completely exhausted by 1 p.m.,” Tucci previously told ABC’s Good Morning America.
“I was like, ‘Something’s wrong with me.’ Finally, I had a blood test, and I was like, ‘I know something’s f–king wrong with me.’ And my thyroid was nonfunctioning,” Tucci added.
Stanley Tucci cooking after his radiation for tongue cancer
The actor also experienced periodic pain in his jaw. Further tests helped lead to the discovery that he had a tumor at the base of his tongue that turned out to be cancerous.
He underwent seven rounds of chemotherapy and 35 days of radiation treatment in 2017. While chemotherapy involves medicines designed to kill cancer cells, radiation shoots beams of radiation at the cancer cells to kill them.
“It destroyed everything in my mouth,” Tucci said of his grueling treatment.
He also had a feeding tube inserted into his stomach for six months, which left him with a long road to recovery, which he still feels today.
Tucci’s treatment included radiation (also called radiotherapy). While radiation aims to focus on the cancer cells, nearby healthy tissues may also be impacted.
WATCH: What does radiotherapy feel like on the patient?
According to the National Cancer Institute, typical side effects of radiation to the head and neck may include:
Fatigue
Hair loss
Changes to the skin or sense of taste
Difficulty swallowing
Mouth issues
A less active thyroid gland
“Radiation therapy is actually ionizing energy, where energy goes through your body, essentially causes DNA damage,” Radiation Oncologist Dr. Subhakar Mutyala explained to SurvivorNet.
“It is a treatment where you don’t feel the treatment itself. Now, sometimes, you might feel the place where we place the tumor. If we’re placing applicators in the cancer, you might feel that. Or if you’re lying on a table and we’re holding you still, you might feel that. But the actual treatment is just ionizing energy,” Dr. Mutyala continued.
WATCH: Managing chemotherapy side effects.
Although Tucci noted the radiation treatments were especially tough to endure, he also received several rounds of chemotherapy. Chemotherapy impacts both cancer cells and healthy tissue nearby.
Common chemotherapy side effects may include:
Fatigue
Hair loss
Nausea and vomiting
Changes in appetite
Diarrhea
Mouth sores
SurvivorNet experts say the best way to manage chemotherapy side effects is to prepare for them. For nausea, doctors will usually prescribe effective medications, including Zofran.
“We have many, many, many medications that we give before, during, and after chemotherapy that should minimize the nausea that patients experience,” Mayo Clinic otolaryngologist Dr. Matthew L. Carlson explained.
Several medications are available for constipation and diarrhea, though doctors may recommend dietary modifications first.
Dr. Carlson says that some patients may find it helpful to complement their treatment with supplements such as the herb American Ginseng to help manage fatigue. This herb has health benefits, including stress management and immune system support.
Coping With Treatment Side Effects that Impact the Mouth
“Your tongue starts to feel super wrong, kind of like you put it against a shredder or something,” Dr. Danoosh Amrooei, a breast cancer survivor and dentist at Monaco Dentistry in Apollo Beach, Florida, previously told SurvivorNet.
“Depending on the chemo, your side effects could be better or worse, but I know with the chemo that I underwent that you get really sensitive teeth and gums; even something like brushing your teeth becomes really painful.”
Dr. Christina Wood, a dentist at Station Dental in Colorado, told SurvivorNet that she recommends that all chemo patients visit the dentist before treatment.
In addition to a regular check-up, individuals should also request a fluoride treatment, said Dr. Wood.
“These provide a high dose of fluoride for your teeth to help increase mineralization of the enamel [strengthen the teeth] and prevent mucositis [painful mouth inflammation],” she explained in a previous interview with SurvivorNet.
She also shared a list of tips for once chemo starts to mitigate pain and keep the mouth clean:
Try to have a dental exam and teeth cleaning before chemo starts
Steer clear of mouthwash with alcohol in it; this can be extremely painful for sensitive gums and teeth
Stay away from spicy and acidic foods, which can exacerbate pain
Try eating foods that can soothe the mouth, such as dairy items
Keep different toothpaste options as your tastebuds change during chemo, and certain flavors might suddenly become unappealing.
Steer clear of whitening toothpaste, which has more grit and can further irritate the gums.
If your treatment is making you vomit frequently, try mixing 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda with 1/8 teaspoon of salt and 1 cup of warm water as a mouth rinse; this can help make your mouth less acidic, which can protect the enamel on your teeth.
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