Aaloi,

As Amy and Loretta have said, it's impossible to predict how your husband will react over the next several weeks. Some people have major adverse reactions by week 4 or so, while others have the worst effects after treatment has ended (and the rate of recovery also varies all over the place). I was able to work at least part time virtually all the way through radiation, and I drove myself to and from each treatment. Mostly what I needed from my husband was emotional support at the end of the day when he got home from work. I also kept doing my own grocery shopping, as I didn't have a tube and I was trying very hard to put together meals that would meet my calorie requirements and be easy to swallow (and my tolerance for certain kinds of foods varied quite a bit from one day to the next over the course of radiation).

I'd suggest that you try to have some contingency plans for when you might need time off, but let your colleagues know that the timing might be hard to plan until you have a better sense of how your husband is responding.

Cathy