The Mayo Clinic defines chemotherapy as “a drug treatment that uses powerful chemicals to kill fast-growing cells in your body.” It’s used to treat cancer because cancer cells multiply much more quickly than most other cells in our bodies.

Chemo is most frequently given via infusion into a vein. This can happen through a needle into the arm, through a chemotherapy port implanted into the chest, or a PICC line. Chemotherapy drugs can also be given orally via pill or liquid.

The short answer is: it depends. Side effect timing and severity vary a lot from person to person depending on their age, cancer type, chemo drug, dosage, and more. The American Society of Clinical Oncology lists several key questions to ask your care team to help you prepare for common side effects of chemotherapy, both physical and emotional (we recommend writing them down to bring with you to your appointment).

While many people feel uncomfortable opening up about such personal news, research shows that most patients are better able to cope with a cancer diagnosis and treatment if they share what they are going through with those closest to them. Resistance or fear about sharing the news is completely normal. Ask your care team if there is a counselor or social worker on staff who can help you figure out who — if anyone — at work or your community might be best to tell, and how to break the news in a way that works for you.

As with most things related to cancer, this is a personal decision that will depend on your unique circumstances. The answer to this question is also highly dependent on the nature of your work. If your work requires physical labor, for instance, you are probably more likely to require time off than someone who works remotely from home. For some patients it is important to take a leave from a stressful job to focus on healing, while others find that work gives them a sense of normalcy while undergoing treatment.

If your employer has a human resources department, speak to them about what disability or sick leave policies are available to you. If you are self-employed, your employer does not offer disability leave, or if your recovery is likely to extend to one year, you might also want to look into applying for Social Security Disability Insurance (often called SSDI). The organization Cancer and Careers offers great resources for navigating your job, finances and more.

Sometimes patients might feel slight burning as drugs go into the vein, but the actual infusion itself is usually painless. If you ever feel any intense discomfort or pain during the process, you should tell the infusion nurse ASAP.

Research estimates that about 65% of patients getting chemotherapy will experience hair loss (or “alopecia” it’s called in medicine). Your exact risk level, though, will depend on your exact treatment regimens, age, comorbidities, and other factors. Cold capping (also called scalp hypothermia” is cooling the scalp with ice packs or cooling caps (cold caps) for a period of time before, during, and after each