Hi Ron and Scott, my husband is a stage four, T3N2BM0 and he had 4 cycles of cisplatin along with his radiation and surgery. Yes there are side effects but that recommendation was made after our oncologist convened a tumor board, and consulted with head and neck oncology specialists at Sloan Kettering and Fox Chase Cancer Center.
There's a number of people who have had talked about having cisplatin on this forum, if you do a search you can get to those posts. By all means ask the doctors and other forum members about side effects but there is nothing you're going to encounter that doesn't have them and Brian's right that you need to have timely treatment. Let the doctors know your concerns and ask them their rational for one chemo versus another. In Jack's case they felt it was the best drug for his situation.
Jack didn't take any supplements and I'd be more concerned about that than the cisplatin because they can interfere with the tretments you are having. Please discuss that with your oncologist before deciding what to do.
Good luck with your treatments.
Regards JoAnne