Julie, it's natural to be scared; chemo is aggressive treatment. But so many of us go through it, finish, recover, and go on with our lives... you will, too.

You can't predict ahead of time what (if any) side effects you'll experience; none of them (except hair loss) is a given. Your best bet is to take the drugs your oncologist prescribes, exactly when you're supposed to take them. If you get anti-nausea medication, don't wait and see if you need it; take it no matter what. And if the Neulasta (shot post-chemo) is just too debilitating, you don't HAVE to have it; lots and lots of us have gone through chemo without Neulasta. It's insurance against having too low of a white blood cell count, but if it really bothers you, you can take your chances, and work in other ways to ward off infections.

As I said, it's only natural you're scared; but you'll find the reality just might not be as bad as the anticipation. Many women find, once they get into chemo and know what to expect, it's not as bad as they'd imagined. Hopefully that'll be the case for you.

Thanks for connecting here - visit again if you find yourself with questions we can answer, or if you just need to vent or want support. Good luck - PJH