This is about a former colleague named Ted. He was diagnosed to be diabetic several years ago. That health issue took a toll on his disposition because he felt deprived of food. In a matter of 2 years, he seemed to have aged a lot. Making matters worse, last year he was diagnosed to have colon cancer and he was scheduled for a chemotherapy session. I have no idea of chemotherapy until we had a mini-reunion with Ted after his therapy. He looked hale although it is evident that he was sick. He said that chemotherapy made him weak for several days and it was painful although he did not describe the pain. And the chemotherapy session is a continuing process until the cancer cells are eradicated. That's the time I realized why they call it the dreaded chemo. PS. In a routine checkup, it was discovered that the cancer cells have metastasized, it had spread to Ted's lungs. That was the cause of his death.
My husband had chemo for colon cancer and it wasn't nearly as bad as we thought it would be. He didn't lose his hair or throw up, etc. maybe he was tired the day after but he worked through all his treatments. He didn't have any pain with it either. He was a stage 3 when diagnosed. All the things you mention happened after my husbands second cancer 10 years later. It wasn't chemo but just the end of the road. He looked terrible the last 6 months of his life and then he had horrible pain but from the cancer not the chemo. He survived 10 years after that. All chemo's are different. Some worse than others. I've only witnessed the one for colon cancer first hand. They've also come a long way from what it used to be, having many meds to help with the side effects.
Chemo is tough. I watched my mom go through it for five years and now my brother. Chemo kills the good and the bad cells, messes with your appetite, makes you loose your hair, and zaps your energy. And each chemo medicine has its own side effects on top of the general ones. God bless all who are undergoing treatment. You are strong people.
I hope I didn't make my husbands chemo sound like a picnic but some chemo's are a little easier to take than others. It's also not as bad as it was when I first heard about chemo, thanks to the anti nausea meds now and other things. Chemo has come a long way from when it started. I've also only experienced someone with colon cancer and someone with ovarian cancer. My daughter's mother in law and she did lose her hair and was weak but no throwing up, etc. and she was stage 3 ovarian, nobody even thought she would survive and it's been more than 5 years now,