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"Chemo Brain" article

chynabear
chynabear CSN Member Posts: 481 Member
edited March 2014 in Colorectal Cancer #1
"Chemo brain can last up to 10 years."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15136453/wid/11915773/
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Comments

  • Patrusha
    Patrusha CSN Member Posts: 487
    #2
    Wow that scares the crapola out of me. I know with only four treatments in that I am forgetting phone numbers and things that I always knew by heart and my ability to write clearly and concisely sometimes seem to suffer. I was hoping it was temporary, but this is scary....
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  • lfondots63
    lfondots63 CSN Member Posts: 818 Member
    #3
    Hi,

    This doesn't sound very promising but to put a good spin on it; Anything I forget to do I can say it is chemo brain for the next 10 years?? LOL.

    Lisa F.
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  • chynabear
    chynabear CSN Member Posts: 481 Member
    #4
    lfondots63 said:

    Hi,

    This doesn't sound very promising but to put a good spin on it; Anything I forget to do I can say it is chemo brain for the next 10 years?? LOL.

    Lisa F.

    Patrusha,

    I found that my experience was very similar to yours in forgetting things that I used to know by heart or that I was good at remembering. I was also unable to focus or concentrate for very long. I actually thought that I had the adult form of ADD or something, not realizing that it was probably just the effects of chemo. This was before I ever even heard of "chemo brain".

    If it helps you any, it has gradually gotten a LOT better since the stop of chemo. In fact, I'm already "almost" back to my previous mental ability. The exception being that I used to tease my husband for his "notes" and his "lists" to help him remember everything. Now, I find that I am the one who must do this or else I will forget to get things at the store or forget things that were mentioned. I now have a notebook that sits right at my desk and I record everything.
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  • alta29
    alta29 CSN Member Posts: 435 Member
    #5
    well...actually..I feel like mine is getting worsed...I even forget clients faces, ...I had a few embarrasing moments too...ooppss
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  • JADot
    JADot CSN Member Posts: 709 Member
    #6
    Hi Chynabear:

    I really enjoy your posts. They are so informative. You must be an incredibly well-read and totally dialed-in person. Thanks for bringing all the interesting tidbits to the board!!!

    Me, me, me! I am the living testament to chemo brain. 3 months after the end of chemo, I still can't remember a thing and do really goofy and stupid stuff all the time. So I have so many Duh! moments. My husband is going to be so thrilled to find out about the 10 year goofiness half life :)

    But hey, as the saying goes, ignorance is bliss. What I can't remember can't bother me :) I consider being alive and being able to laugh about my chemo brain as a distinct priviledge :):)

    Did anyone see my car keys?

    :):)

    Again, thanks so much for your informative posts!

    Cheers,
    Ying
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  • Betsydoglover
    Betsydoglover CSN Member Posts: 1,248 Member
    #7
    Wow - it was sort of fun making a joke of this, but I was hoping it would go away soon. Have to admit though - my serious thinking processes seem to work as well as they ever did - but remembering relatively trivial details? Wow - that has gone out the window!

    If I think of something at work late in the afternoon - e.g. I need to call this guy about that - need to set up new project number - other minor stuff - I absolutely HAVE to write myself a note and put it on my desk in front of my keyboard. Otherwise I forget it the next day - I NEVER used to be like this. Trying to be Pollyanna about it, I have gotten more organized - much better about completing a trivial task before I let myself get interrupted by another one. If I do go into interrupt mode (my old style that always worked well) I end up with something falling through the cracks.

    So - darn - I didn't want this to take 10 years to fix, but hey - I am only 11 months off chemo - another 9 years and 1 month sounds pretty good!

    Thx for the article,
    Betsy
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  • jams67
    jams67 CSN Member Posts: 925 Member
    #8
    10 years! You know I told ya'll (I'm from TX) that I liked playing WEBoggle. Well I found that with the neuropathy in my fingers and the chemo affecting my brain, that when I would try to type fast my fingers would go to keys I didn't tell them to go to. I think it is probably a very good exercise. I play under the name "team can'tspelltipe" Join me and help out. jams
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