Help with chemo brain

kirismum

Kiri's handling her chemo (weekly Taxol, daily Lapatinib) well so far - just a few sniffles, dizzy spells, bit of a headache. Her spirits are good and she's back to riding her horses, but she's concerned about her inability to focus. I told her it was early yet; she should see how she does in the next week or so. But it's a problem for her because she's doing her doctorate, in her second year of the PhD program (literature) at Boston College, and her minor exam is scheduled for the first week in December. She has to stay enrolled or she loses her medical insurance. BC has been wonderfully accommodating, letting her follow an independent study course that exempts her from classes and teaching, but she does have to keep up with the work.

We're getting her an iPad and I've found some "brain-training" software for her -- a good friend of mine had chemo for ovarian cancer some years ago and kept her mind sharp with Nintendo and Brain Age, so I'm looking at equivalents. Does anyone have any other advice? I think the riding is good, as it will keep her fit and get the oxygen to her brain; the kind of riding she does (dressage) can also be intellectually taxing (which is why our trainer despaired of me; I was  going through menopause at the time). She sounds fine to me on the phone, but she's driven and a perfectionist, and I know how thick I felt with "static brain" during menopause, so I can imagine how she's feeling.

All suggestions welcome. Thanks.

cbm

That's a tough one.  Once she is sure she is not going to have a reaction to the Taxol, she can ask to cut back on the premeds and steroids, which I did and which I believe helped me get my brain back.  I got down to zero benadryl and a tiny amount of decadron in the infusion, and no oral steroid meds after it.  I was given AC/TH, however, not Taxol/Lapatinib.

Keeping up with the work may be the best brain exercise.  She does sound like she is a disciplined woman, so following a regimen and staying on track is probably the right plan for her.  I found that chemo brain (unlike menopause) was not consistent; that's the annoying thing.  I'd be fine until I wasn't, like in the middle of something.  

You are such a great mom.  I think the iPad and Brain Age are super ideas.

Warmly,

Cathy 

AmyIsStrong

I have an IPAD now - didn't have one then. There are MANY free games you can download that use different skills. Puzzles, sorting, matching, etc. I use it when I can't sleep at night. I don't think you need to jump right into spending money on games - there are a lot of free ones out there.

I didn't have trouble with chemo brain, or not much, anyway. It is VERY hard to tell if inability to focus is due to actual chemobrain or from all the stuff that is going on!  I did take L-glutamine to prevent neuropathy (which worked, or else I just didnt' get neuropathy, who knows?) and maybe that helped. She needs to take a little while and see what the actual effects are. i was very afraid of it, too, because of the type of work I do, but it never became a problem.