Mouth Sores
Chemotherapy can cause mouth, throat, or esophagus sores, which usually appear within a week to two after receiving treatment. The first sign is usually a pale, dry lining of the mouth. The mouth, gums, and throat may be sore, become red, and feel inflamed. The tongue may feel coated and swollen, which may cause difficulty in swallowing, eating, and talking. The sores can bleed, ulcerate, and become infected. It’s important to remember that the condition is temporary.
Before starting chemotherapy, it’s a good idea to visit your dentist to tend to any cavities or other problems and to get advice on caring for your mouth and gums. Taking good care of your mouth and gums during treatment will minimize sores. If you develop mouth sores as a result of chemotherapy, be sure to tell your health care provider. If the sores do not require medical treatment, consider these suggestions:
-
Eat foods cold or at room temperature. Hot and warm foods can irritate a tender mouth and throat.
-
Choose soft, soothing foods, such as ice cream, milkshakes, baby food, soft fruits (bananas and apple sauce), mashed potatoes, cooked cereals, soft-boiled or scrambled eggs, macaroni and cheese, custards and puddings. You also can puree cooked foods in the blender to make them smoother and easier to eat.
-
Avoid irritating, acidic foods such as tomatoes, or citrus fruit (e.g., orange, grapefruit and lemon); spicy or salty foods; and rough, coarse or dry foods such as raw vegetables, granola and toast.
-
Ask your doctor if you should use an artificial saliva product to moisten your mouth.
-
Drink plenty of liquids.
-
Suck on ice chips, popsicles or sugarless hard candy. Chew sugarless gum.
-
Moisten dry foods with butter, margarine, gravy or sauce.
-
Dunk crisp, dry foods in mild liquids.
Think your experience is uncommon? Want to speak with someone who has gone through a similar one? Call the Y-ME Hotline at 800-221-2141 and speak with a trained peer counselor who is a breast cancer survivor.
SOURCES:
Sproull, A. & Bruss, K. (Eds.). (2001). A breast cancer journey: Your personal guidebook. Atlanta: American Cancer Society.
Lange, V. 2002). Be a survivor: Your guide to breast cancer treatment (2nd ed.). Los Angeles: Lange Productions.
Love, S. M. (with Lindsey, K.). (2005). Dr. Susan Love’s breast book (3rd ed.). Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
November 2007
