Mary, the question you ask is really unanswerable because it affects everyone differently.

More to the point, however, questions like this focus your attention on your fears, and believe me, fear is the last thing you need to focus on.

Instead, focus on finding things that you can do to ease your mum's suffering. Use your imagination here; and that is something you simply cannot do if your mind is paralyzed with fear.

Focus on the fact that your mum will return to a reasonable facsimile of normalcy when the treatments are completed, and whatever extended time of side effects is expired and healing is all that's going on.

That is a fact, you know; this treatment is bad, but it is also transitory; it will come to an end sooner than you can imagine, and this will all be mostly nothing but a bad memory.

Sure, these things are not easy to do when you are racked with fear; but show the determination to succeed that your mum is already showing.

I wish you both the very best of luck getting through this, it's not going to be pleasant, but neither will it be as bad as your fears.

Bart

PS, as soon as I hit "send" for this message, I'm off to get my own radiation for today.