Hi Eric, I had concurrent radiation and cisplatin to treat my tonsil cancer. No surgery done. I am not a medical professional so there are some questions I cannot answer. Just to share my experience during treatment and the side effects.I had cisplatin once every week for 4 consecutive weeks. The most obvious effect was nausea and loss of appetite. I guess the chemo also affected my emotional state as well because I felt very tired and depressed after the injection for 2 to 3 days. Then I felt better until the next injection. No hair loss in my case but a serious drop in white blood cell count and I suffered from high fever when I finished all the 4 rounds of cisplatin.I had to be admitted to hospital for observation and medication. At that time I still had a week of radiation not yet done. No damage on my hearing although I heard some annoying sound (that didn't exist) for about a month. You need to strengthen your body before you have your chemo. Your doctor should give you a list of all possible side effects, short term or chronic, before your first treatment. He should explain every item to you so that you know what you may expect.People react very differently but most of us can go through it.

Karen.