Jamie,
I am so glad your mother is feeling better. I hope the next weeks will pass quickly for her - and you.
I did not have chemo with my radiation, but unfortunately things got worse week by week until the end and 2-3 weeks after the end of radiation. Your mother has been through so many problems, I hope the tiredness & weakness will be the worst side effects from now on (I hope this came out right). I don't know about the effects on memory - there was something about an article on chemo and memory loss on this forum recently, but I think it is more likely that the problem is with the stress from the other side effects + cancer itself. I have always had a problem with forgetfulness, I don't think it is any worse than at other stressful times in my life.

Ed, you are right about telling her she is beautiful and encouraging her to try to look her best when she feels up to it. My sisters did the sweetest thing for me when I was really down. I had told them about the Frankestein scar on my neck and how it made me feel. They sent me (from Finland) a package with ten softest and most beautiful silk scarves in all different colors - at the time when I was sick and tired and miserable, the beauty and the FEEL of those scarves was just what I needed. I still go and play with them when I feel sad. And I have a scarf to match every blouse I wear, and then some.

Leena