What Is Chemo Brain?

The term chemo brain refers to a cognitive problem. It can be defined as reduced mental acuity, inability to remember certain things, and difficulty completing tasks or learning new things.

The brain chemo affects the daily lives of many people with cancer and can occur during and after chemotherapy.

What is the cause of chemo brain?

The chemo brain can make it difficult to think, concentrate, and perform tasks. These problems can be mild, but they can also be so severe that people find it difficult to work or carry out their daily activities.

Cognitive problems can be caused by chemotherapy used to treat cancer. Many cancer treatments, including certain types of chemotherapy and radiation, can cause both short-term and long-term problems.

The brain chemo can also be caused by cancer itself, and perhaps by other drugs used to treat it. Some people with cancer have brain problems even if they haven’t had chemotherapy.

On the other hand, anxiety, stress, fatigue, the patient’s age, depression and illnesses such as diabetes and hypertension are factors that can cause problems in the short term.

The chemo brain may disappear after the end of treatment. However, for some people, it can last for months or even years after treatment ends.

What are the symptoms of chemo brain?

Symptoms vary from person to person,  but some of them are:

• They have trouble concentrating, they have short attention spans.
• Difficulty remembering details such  as names and dates.
• They can’t do multiple tasks at the same time, like answering the phone while cooking.

• They take longer to finish things, they are more disorganized. In addition, they are also slower to reason and process information.

What is the treatment?

The duration of the chemo brain is an important factor in assessing the degree to which it affects a person’s life. In most patients, the effects on the brain last for a short time after the end of chemotherapy.

People with this problem  are often aware of differences in thinking. Often, they don’t report this problem to their cancer care team until it affects their daily lives.

If you are noticing signs of chemo brain and are undergoing chemotherapy, it is best to tell your doctor.

What can you do to deal with chemo brain?

There are many things you can do to deal with chemo brain . Here are some of them.

• Use memory features like post-its and calendars to remember events and tasks. Some people always carry a notebook to write down important dates, to-do lists and names of people.
• Exercise your brain: for example, solve crosswords or learn a new language.
• Rest and get enough sleep.
• Get regular physical activity and try to stick to a diet rich in vegetables.
• Establish routines,  especially for daily tasks, so that you get used to doing the same things in the same order every day.
• Don’t try to do multiple things at once  and ask for help when you need it.
• Keep a diary and record memory problems : write down how much sleep you have, the level of stress and other things that have happened. These notes can help your doctor suggest more helpful things.

• Seek support : Talk to your family and close friends about the problem so they know what’s going on.

Can chemo brain be avoided?

Until now, the way to prevent chemo brain is unknown. For some people, cancer treatment can mean problems with memory, thinking, and finding the right words.

The causes of cancer-related brain problems and their treatment are still being studied. The brain chemo seems to occur more often before high – dose chemotherapy, and even more likely if the cancer treatment combining chemotherapy and radiation.

An unavoidable side effect in some cases

The brain chemo is a mild disorder and usually disappears with time. Therefore, chemotherapy that has been shown to work against cancer should not be altered  to avoid this side effect.