Chemo Brain
I would compare it with attention deficit disorder or a general feeling of fogginess - Justin Birckbichler
image by: Chemo Brain Awareness
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Finally, My Case of ‘Chemo Brain’ Is Vindicated
The week before chemotherapy began, I sat in a brightly lit exam room with an oncology nurse. She handed me a stack of papers and pulled up a chair.
“So,” she began. “You should read through these to get all the side effects, but some are more common than others.”
I sat through her ten-minute spiel about mouth sores and how they’re so painful that some patients need feeding tubes inserted. Nausea. Partial hearing loss. Peripheral neuropathy. Hair loss, duh. I listened, not bothering to read through the papers, which still felt hot from the printer. Never did she say anything about chemo brain.
I was first diagnosed with hepatoblastoma, a rare form of liver cancer, when…
Resources
Lifting the Fog on 'Chemo Brain'
Although often associated with breast cancer, cancer-related cognitive impairment can occur with any type of the disease, including prostate and colon cancer, and in patients undergoing stem cell transplant for leukemia or lymphoma. It may be seen more frequently in people who undergo multiple modes of treatment,
New hope for treating “chemo brain,” with a side of the joy of science
In the new paper, published in Cell, Michelle Monje, MD, PhD, and her colleagues showed that microglia are conducting a symphony of problems in chemo brain. Chemotherapy over-activates the microglia, triggering malfunctions in two other types of glia.
Scientists Discover A Probable Cause Of 'Chemo Brain' And It May Be Treatable
One of the most frequently reported issues is that of 'chemo brain,' a difficult to pinpoint condition, the name coined by cancer survivors themselves, where survivors can report a range of symptoms, from feeling tired, disoriented, being forgetful and easily losing focus.
My Road Back From Chemobrain
Cancer rehab has given me my life back. I am no longer afraid to speak with others or give a speech to a room full of people. I still use many of the things I learned from speech therapy and they help me in some way almost every single day.
Navigating Through Chemo Brain
Does any of this sound familiar? You're halfway through what will be six rounds of chemotherapy when you notice a dense fog rolling over your brain. You grow forgetful. The responsibility of making even small decisions overwhelms you.
Chemo Brain May Last 5 Years or More
“Chemo brain,” the foggy thinking and forgetfulness that cancer patients often complain about after treatment, may last for five years or more for a sizable percentage of patients, new research shows.
The Truth About Chemo Brain
For many patients, the symptoms of chemo brain improve over time, although they may not resolve completely. Some people may continue to experience chemo brain symptoms long after they have completed cancer treatment.
What Is Chemo-Brain?
Since the 1990s researchers have tried to understand this phenomenon, particularly in breast cancer patients. But the exact cause of chemo brain remains unclear.
Finally, My Case of ‘Chemo Brain’ Is Vindicated
The good news, sort of, is that at least it wasn’t all in my head: Recent research has discovered a scientific basis for chemo brain.
10 Things Cancer Survivors Want You To Know About Chemo Brain
These ten reminders are for everyone who is or loves someone in the cancer community who is experiencing chemobrain. Whether you're reading this a former disbeliever, or you are reading this as someone who just found out about it.
CHEMOBRAIN.....In The Fog
Chemobrainfog.....How chemotherapy (hopefully) saved my body and (definitely) rearranged my brain...
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