Chemo Brain

For years cancer survivors have worried about, joked about, and been frustrated with the mental cloudiness they sometimes notice before, during, and after chemotherapy. Even though its exact cause isn’t always known, this mental fog is commonly called “chemo brain.” Patients have been aware of chemo brain for some time, but only recently have studies been done that could start to explain it.

Doctors have known for years that radiation treatment to the brain could cause problems with thinking and memory. Recently, they have found that chemo is linked to some of the same kinds of problems. Research has begun to show that some cancer drugs can cause certain kinds of changes in the brain. But it’s also showing that chemo is not the only thing that can cause problems with thinking and memory for people with cancer.

Though the brain usually recovers over time, the sometimes vague yet distressing mental changes cancer patients notice are real, not imagined. They might last a short time, or they might go on for years. These changes can make people unable to go back to their school, work, or social activities, or make it so that it takes a lot of mental effort to do so. They affect everyday life for many people, and more research is needed to help prevent and cope with them.

* I must say us cancer girls make this a fun thing "I have Chemo brain" but we do that to cover up all the things that take place. But it is real is makes you forget and thats ok, Just go with the flow, I found it best to take day by day. Be kind to yourself. Nothing is as important as surviving. Things will settle down and you will get through it. Chemo brain is real. Ok I found the milk in the cupboard and the coffee and sugar in the fridge, that dam Chemo brain. It's really hard but now we have a laugh about it....Really it's laugh or cry so lets laugh that we actually survive Chemo brain....