Chemo Brain

Gardengypsy, no; I have found references that indicate that since IGF-1 can promote tumor growth, its use in cancer patients is a problem. They do now use it for people with traumatic brain injuries (presumably those without cancer.) I was unable to find anything about any specific drug therapy in the pipeline to assist with chemo brain symptoms. Most of the more recent medical studies I have found simply quote the 2009 findings of unexpected damage to the brain's ability to create the same quantity of new cells post chemo. This linked article was at least generally informative. No big news, but some common sense help with dealing with it. http://foodforbreastcancer.com/articles/latest-research-on-chemo-brain-after-breast-cancer-treatment

Gracie~ A lot of good links at the end of that article. Thanks.

Gracie~ I am a psychology teacher who studies a lot of neuroscience, and I understand the semantic memory application here. Thanks for pointing it out..

My working memory is in big trouble as well.

But, my biggest struggle is the general confusion I feel for most of every day. I struggle to listen, problem solve or communicate effectively. Although I don't have a headache, I feel like my head is going to explode.

I am sure that my upcoming neuropsych evaluation (2 weeks) will clarify things for me, and I am beginning to accept that I will probably be reapplying for disability.

I have a career that I love, but I am 7 months out of chemo and things are getting harder, not easier.

gardengypsy

Hi Gracie~

I really appreciate your encouragement and feedback.

My symptoms are fairly severe, and this is traced directly to the chemo and radiation. Besides the loss of cognitive functioning, I have neuropathy and exhaustion. Healing can't happen when you are stressed all the time, and I have a demanding job as a public high school teacher.

Right now, I need to heal from the incredibly toxic treatment used to save my life.

I am planning short term disability, not long term. I think the ADA will cover me.A few more months of recovery time is needed before I completely lose it.

Thank you again for your input and caring note.

gardengypsy -

Mostly I feel like it has gotten better. I had a lot of issues originally just grasping concepts but I feel like that has gotten easier for me. I still forget words occasionally - I did it today in the car with my husband actually. But overall I do think I see improvement. So there is some hope!

How are you doing

Yup, I have it too. Mine is mostly with short term memory, like a conversation I just had with someone minutes before will be gone. Or making a grocery list, the item will just suddenly disappear from my mind. Occasionally, my family says that I am not remembering a certain detail of a past memory correctly, but that only happens every so often...and I did that before chemo, lol. I do have issues spelling or coming up with the right words when talking too...like "the" or other bigger words. It is improving now at 7 months out from last chemo treatment. I still find that I can't think when there is a room full of conversations going on. I don't like being around alot of people right now. I have a few Cancer friends who have had the same experience, and they give me hope as they are very intelligent people who you would never guess had ever had memory issues before. For now, I write everything down, carry my phone around with me for a calendar app and a excel spreadsheet app I use for my grocery list.

Hi, everyone. I wrote about my own struggles with chemobrain on another thread here about this very topic. I have started on Lion's Mane, the mushroom supplement. I think it is really helping my memory, along with Ginko Biloba.

I received my report from Brigham and my onc and I have created a survivorship plan that includes addressing my cognitive problems - processing speed, short term memory loss, executive skills (planning organizing). The psychologist who did the testing said that the chemo and debilitating fatigue from treatment are clearly responsible for my current state of being. Today I made appointments for...

-Speech Language Therapy with a specialist in chemo brain. The neuropsychologist said this is really, really important.

- Mindfulness meditation classes

- Acupressure

-Occupational Therapy

-"Steps to Wellness" A physical therapy program devoted to oncology patients.

I have upped my dose of Lexapro as well. She also recommended me seeing my therapist - who specializes in oncology - much, much more..

The doc who did the neurotesting used the phrase, "self-care" many times. So in order to access this health care, I will be taking a long term disability leave (via employer's insurance).

Ladies. It's a full time job taking care of ourselves. My thinking skills are so bad I could barely schedule the appointments.

Hi I was wondering if you still suffer from Chemo brain? I too suffer from Brain fog, but my oncologist told me that chemo brain can only last about 1 year after chemo.

Arimidex and Tamoxifen can cause brain fog and I know that the Arimidex is the cause of my short term memory loss and confusion, comprehension problems, cognitive issues.

I am trying to get an attorney for a class action suit against the makers of Arimidex.

Let me know how you are doing?

Chemo brain is nasty. I'll be discussing something and the word just vanishes from my mind. There one minute, gone the next. I joke about it when around friends, but truthfully it isn't funny. It's annoying. They injected poison into us. Of course it affected our brain.

A post on this sight says it lasts up to six months. I wish. I finished chemo in October. Back to the brain strengthening games. We'll come through this better, smarter than ever.

Danesmom: I assure you chemo brain can and does last for more than a year post treatment for many people. I am one. My cancer was triple negative, so I've had no anti-hormonals. There are many triple negative patients who can attest to chemo brain lasting longer than a year. Every oncologist I've had has agreed. I also was involved in chemo brain studies and trials.

I'm glad that the study you were in did not show the effects of chemo brain and perhaps your issues are either caused by or exacerbated by Arimidex. I wish you well in your pursuit of a class action suit, but please don't minimize the difficulties of those of us who have chemo brain and have never taken anti-hormonal drugs. There are studies and research to prove chemo brain exists and can plague patients for many years.

I am 5 years out from chemo and still have pretty bad chemo brain. I've tried lots of different things with no real help. I just feel pretty dumb mostly, like I can't follow topics, I havent been able to read a book since before chemo - just don't have the concentration skills or attention span. I cant recal words and just zone out a lot. It's frustrating. I used to plow through books. And now the best I can do is maybe finish a short people magazine article. And I have not been on any anti hormonals - so this is definately from the chemo - for me atleast.

I'm 5 years out (TNBC so no hormones) and still have chemo brain. Like others, I lose my train of thought mid-sentence, I spell things wrong or say the wrong word entirely. My autopilot doesn't work either--one time I stopped myself from putting trash in the refrigerator. I can't concentrate/focus, multi-task and some times I do things wrong that I've done a million times. One time I set the alarm to the house wrong, the alarm went off and the police came. It's something I've done correctly for 10 years. I have no idea why I started pressing the wrong button. I know it wasn't an accident because I did the same thing the next day, but I was purposefully paying attention so I caught it. :-( Then I started forgetting to lock the car door. It's to the point that I don't trust myself anymore.

I've been told it's lack of sleep, depression, nothings wrong with me etc. I started taking an anti-depressant so that the doctors would rule out depression. I kept telling them I wasn't depressed and this was the only way to get them to stop thinking that's why I was having memory issues. My neuropsych test came back great in all areas except for working memory (duh), attention (duh) and some parts of language. But they are all in the average range, so the doctor says "great news, I'm fine." All the other areas are higher.

I suppose there is nothing I can do to fix this at this point. However, I really wish someone had told me this was a possiblity and allowed me to use that knowledge as part of my decision to take chemo or not. I may have decided against it.

Twelve years since first diagnosis. Seven years out since chemo and still have chemo brain. How I wish I could read something even semi-intellectual again. How I wish I could find the correct word. How I wish I could remember what happened two days ago. Thank goodness my partner tries to understand and patiently tells me the same thing over and over and over and over again.

I used to be a highly intelligent person. Now I wonder how I manage to get through a day and am attached to the hip to my calendar. If it's not on the calendar, it doesn't happen.

It doesn't matter to me whether it's from chemo or AIs or something else. It's here, cancer is responsible, and I hate it.

JJ