Chemotherapy Side Effects, Mental Health & Recovery After Bowel Cancer

Dar Barrow was back on Graft to talk about chapter two: chemotherapy. The surgery was hard. What came after it was something else entirely. This conversation covers the side effects nobody prepares you for — frozen eyes, fizzy hands, the complete collapse of taste — the worst mental health day of his life arriving on an ordinary dog walk, the NHS helpline he used more than once, and what recovery actually looks and feels like when you're 80% of the physical version and 60% of the mental version of who you were before. He's also running 107km around the Isle of Wight for Bowel Cancer UK. His second book is out now. ――――――――――――――――――――――――――― ⏱ CHAPTERS 0:00 Introduction — Dar Barrow returns 3:37 Where Dar is now 6:07 First day of chemo and the anxiety that arrived the night before 7:07 Being hooked up to the matrix 10:29 Walking home after treatment — when the side effects kicked in 11:41 Like the 90s but without any of the fun 12:13 Fizzy hands, frozen eyes and lockjaw 13:49 Surgery vs chemotherapy — which is harder 14:36 The NHS 24/7 helpline and why he ignored it until he needed it 18:47 The ctDNA test: trying to find a medical way out of chemo 22:16 The Creamy Curse and never touching pizza again 24:03 The worst mental health day — and the front door breakdown 29:02 The helpline call that helped, and why he started writing 31:29 Never once getting used to it 32:49 The scan in October that finally cleared him 34:46 Emma and the relationship through the fog 35:28 The shocking statistic of men vs women 37:47 Why Dar keeps talking publicly about all of it 39:04 The neighbour: "it just gets a little bit less every day" 40:55 Recovery: 80% physically, 60% mentally 43:31 107km Isle of Wight challenge for Bowel Cancer UK 45:55 What the watch says vs what the body felt like a year ago 46:17 Book two out now ――――――――――――――――――――――――――― 📚 DAR'S BOOKS Oh Sh*t I've Got Bowel Cancer — Amazon / Kindle / Apple Books The Fog of Chemotherapy — out now Profits to Bowel Cancer UK 🏃 ISLE OF WIGHT CHALLENGE — 107km for Bowel Cancer UK Link to Fundraising Page ――――――――――――――――――――――――――― 🎙 GRAFT PODCAST New episodes every other week. Spotify Apple Podcasts Instagram: @graft_podcast ――――――――――――――――――――――――――― #GraftPodcast #DarBarrow #BowelCancer #ChemotherapySideEffects #CancerRecovery #MentalHealth #Podcast