Barb, tell you the truth I think I saw one of your recent postings over at another cancer message board I peruse. About the only place I post messages though is here, and that is only rarely since I've only been here since diagnosis and don't feel like a "survivor" yet enough to offer too much advice.

Like you, I wish I had been better informed about the side effects of all the treatments by my medical professionals, but seriously, I gained a whole lot of information about what to expect from the people on this forum that have gone through it before. I spent a whole lot of time reading all the back posts. Then again, every patient and phyisician have different treatment plans.

In my case, my tumor was made to disappear first with chemo and radiation and then four weeks later they did a neck dissection to see if there were any signs of live cancer cells remaining.

Radiation was much harder to endure than chemo, but endure it I did. Right now, I'm dealing with the rather nasty side effects of Iressa.

I know what you mean when you have explanations on side effects that sound rather mild and simplistic, but honestly I don't think they ever know how a body is going to respond to treatment until it goes through it.

Speaking only for myself, the "worry" burden is always there in the back of my mind. I thought recently this week when I saw some clip from the lame television show "Fear Factor" that at least those people smothering themselves with snakes, eating bugs and gross stuff willingly elected themselves for having to do scary stuff. It's a much different story when you are living your own "fear factor" and it's not voluntarily induced.

I really marvel that the age of the internet and search engines are here. It's how I found this place, and of course, any medication I get I research it.

In many ways, after I found this patient forum, I could fill in the blanks of what the medical team wasn't telling me of what possible experiences lay ahead. It was also largely comforting that people HAD gone thru it before and the treatments were not unheard of. I was also better able to deal with some of the more unsavory side effects before they appeared because I understood it was a possibility for them to happen. Most days were consumed by simply not trying to "freak out" completely.

Heck, I'll still admit that even now that treatment is behind me I still have days where trying to NOT "freak out" is my goal.

Jen