hi there - i love David's response its comprehensive. Try not to freak it's bad to horrible but you will get through it. As for the hair if your are a woman, and you are receiving it to you tongue and neck area then you may lose it from behind your ears down to your nape. Mine also thinned out all up the side of my head on my radiation side. I was able to pull it back into a low ponytail with a scrunchy and it sort of hid the baldness from the ears down then when I was a few months out of treatment and it was maybe 1.5 inches long I had extensions put in - it worked like a charm for about 6 months and then I had them removed and had a bob... good luck and welcome...