And Now the Downside

Chemo and radiation come with side effects. What's so frustrating is that they vary so widely. It truly differs from person to person. One person's able to continue working and functioning fairly normally while another is bedridden. These are by no means all the side effects, and you might not have any of them. Here's what I dealt with.
Hair Loss. This is a big one, particularly for women. As a guy, this was certainly weird, but I ended up just shaving my head and going with it. What you don't really think about is that this covers all your hair, up to and including eyebrows. I even lost a lot of my eyelashes. That might not sound like much, but believe me, you'll have a much greater appreciation for the awesomeness of eyelashes when they're gone. Virtually everything seems to go into your eyes.
Mouth Sores. I only had this for two days, but what a 48 hours that was. Cough drops, popsicles and fluids helped.
Constipation. Chemo and cancer drugs will make you a connoisseur of fiber in all its forms. Fruits, vegetables, FiberOne cereal...I tried it all. There were moments where burlap and rope with ranch dressing were considered. Drink as much fluids as you can and try to move around. Failing that, the Walgreens version of Senokot helps. Kashi cereal does have a fair amount of fiber, but it tastes like day-old hay. The folks in those commercials may well be scouring the globe looking for stuff to put into cereal but they're most certainly avoiding spice markets and uncovering new flavors. Kashi is only slightly better than a hobo's sock.
Loss of Taste. This was one of the toughest for me, and it didn't really kick in until a month or two after I'd finished radiation and chemo. The hits keep coming. For one awful month everything tasted like really bland roast beef. I'd be able to faintly taste things, but the bland roast taste overwhelmed just about everything. The other flavor I was able to taste was a strange kind of medicinal nothingness. I'd be able to sense textures, but that was about it. Mercifully, it slowly went away.
Loss of Hearing. Two and a half years after finishing chemo, this one's still with me. There really isn't much that can be done about it, so I've learned to live with it. It's tinnitus -- a constant ringing -- as opposed to true hearing loss. Some locations, like bars and restaurants with lots of concrete and hard surfaces, sound like everything is at the same volume. The person across from me and the person talking to their friend ten feet away all seem to be at the same volume. It gets overwhelming at times but you learn to deal with it.
Memory Loss. This is one of the more well-known side effects of chemo. Sometimes called "chemo brain" or "chemo fog," you'll find it hard to remember things. You won't forget your name or who you're married to, but short term memory and small things -- like what you talked about when you saw your friend last week or the status of a project from months ago -- may be underwater or gone altogether. Again, you'll have to learn to adapt. Listen closely, repeat things and make notes.
Nausea is probably the thing people most associate with chemo. I never felt truly sick to my stomach and I never threw up from chemo. But man, oh man did I feel bloated. It was as if I'd stuffed myself at three seperate Thanksgiving meals. It was this horrific feeling that I'd burst at any second. It came and went, but the weekends right after treatment toward the end of my run were the worst. I didn't have the energy to move around much, so all I could do was ride it out. Sparkling water helped to some extent, as did tea with a little raw ginger in it.
Fatigue is another one. You won't sleep all the time but you'll sure feel worn out. Try to do something every day, though. Even if it's no more than getting the mail. The more active you are, the sooner all that crap can get worked through your system.
Change in sense of smell. This was one of the cooler side effects, if there is such a thing. One day I was walking the dogs and a car drove by with the window down. I could smell the guy's cologne with such clarity, it was unreal. I had an almost superhuman sense of smell. It didn't inspire me to go solve crimes or anything, but it was kind of fun. Of course there's a flipside. For a little while I couldn't smell much of anything. It slowly equalized.