Chemobrain…

Yep, it’s back.  I feel it coming on slowly, but surely.  For my chemo treatments, I have 14 days on (with an IV infusion at the cancer center once a week - and oral medications, 6 pills a day for 14 days) and then 14 days off.  The past 2 weeks have been nice, seems like the chemobrain went away somewhat, but I feel it creeping on again since I started chemo again 2 days ago.  I came across a page from MayoClinic.com, which I will quote, so y’all know exactly what I’m talking about here.  I will add the link at the bottom.  Don’t want anyone to think I’m stealing anything here…

What is chemobrain?

The terms “chemobrain” and “chemofog” refer to cognitive changes during and after cancer diagnosis and treatment. Though these terms imply a relation to chemotherapy, it isn’t clear that chemotherapy is responsible. Women with breast cancer who underwent chemotherapy were the first group to bring these symptoms to light, as more started mentioning their symptoms to their doctors. It isn’t clear whether chemotherapy, or other factors such as stress and hormonal fluctuations, cause the changes in memory and thinking. What is clear is that some people with cancer do notice increased difficulties with certain mental tasks during and after cancer treatment.

In general, researchers have found that chemotherapy can affect your cognitive abilities in the following ways:

• Word finding. You might find yourself reaching for the right word in conversation.
• Memory. You might experience short-term memory lapses, such as not remembering where you put your keys or what you were supposed to buy at the store.
• Multitasking. Many jobs require you to manage multiple tasks during the day. Multitasking is important at work as well as at home — for example, talking with your kids and making dinner at the same time. Chemotherapy may affect how well you’re able to perform multiple tasks at once.
• Learning. It might take longer to learn new things. For example, you might find you need to read paragraphs over a few times before you get the meaning.
• Processing speed. It might take you longer to do tasks that were once quick and easy for you.

Here is the link to the original article.