For decades, cancer survivors have experienced problems with memory, attention, and processing information months and even years after treatment. Because many of these survivors had chemotherapy, this has been called "chemo brain" or "chemo fog.” Early researchers assumed that cognitive problems were a result of chemotherapy alone. More recent research has suggested that the combination of chemotherapy and hormonal therapy, or even hormonal therapy alone, may cause cognitive change.
Source: National Cancer Institute
What do you do when you’re lost for words?
You know the feeling.
Maybe you’re desperately trying to make a point but can’t find the right word.
Maybe you’re trying to tell someone something but can’t remember an important name.
Maybe you were telling a story but lost your train of thought and now have no idea what you were saying.
Maybe it happens to you once or twice and you shrug it off.
But for those of us with chemo brain this is our daily reality.
Going through cancer affects your brain just as much as the rest of your body.
Maybe more.
Neurological issues are hard to pin down.
It can take years to identify the root cause of your problem.
You wonder is there really a problem with your memory or are you simply too stressed?
Maybe it’s both?
It’s hard to tell.
Cognitive effects of treatment can range from simply forgetting and extreme fatigue to difficultly multi-tasking. and staying organized.
It’s frustrating.
It’s embarrassing.
It’s not something cancer survivors always discuss.
But it’s our reality.
It’s a haunting effect of treatment that lasts years, even decades later.
Sometimes it never goes away.
But I’m here to say it CAN get better.
There is hope that these side effects don’t have to last forever.
The body is an amazing machine.
Our brains keep the engine running.
But just like any system, parts break down and become dysfunctional.
Sometimes things happen that send our systems into overdrive.
Other times, traumatic events happen that paralyze us and take away our ability to react.
So we freeze.
Our bodies go into shock.
Even years later, our bodies can react as if the event has just happened or is currently happening to us.
Traumatic events affect us all differently.
There is no magic pill for treating trauma.
You have to do the work to heal.
Yes, our brains can become sick and break down,
Our bodies can feel so broken that we want to give up.
But I have also witnessed first-hand how they can be healed and rewired.
Functional medicine and neurological rehab helped give me my life back after treatment.
After just a few months of therapy and lifestyle adjustments, I was amazed by my progress.
The underlying agitation and frustration that comes with constantly forgetting things was gone.
The uncertainty regarding my future was alleviated.
I could finally feel my body starting to heal.
I could visibly see the changes:
My vision improved.
My balance stabilized.
My strength was restored.
My digestion improved.
My anxiety lessened.
It wasn’t easy.
For a long time, I doubted it was even possible.
I thought I would have to get used to living this “new normal.”
Functional medicine, neurological rehab along with lifestyle and diet changes helped me regain a lot of cognitive function I thought I had lost due to my cancer treatment.
It isn't a total panacea for chemo brain.
But it’s a pretty good place to start.
I’ll be sharing tips and other resources in upcoming blogs and posts to help other survivors and their families get access to the same treatment options and resources that helped me. I was fortunate to regain a lot of my cognitive function in the first two years of remission thanks to the therapy I received. I am hoping to help others do the same.
This is a big reason why I started my Hopeful Warrior Project.
Chemo brain affects up to 75 per cent of patients during treatment with 35 percent reporting symptoms post-treatment.
I am hoping to change that by helping connect local cancer fighters and survivors with the resources that have helped me the most.
Learn more: www.hopefulwarrior.com/project
Donate: www.fundly.com/the-hopeful-warrior-project
Sources:
Chemo Brain- American Cancer Society
A ‘new normal’ with chemo brain- Fiona ME Henderson, University of Derby
Neuro Rehab in the Chicago area: Neurologic Wellness Institute