Chemo brain is very common term to describe a condition in which the cancer patients experience memory problems after their treatment is over. They can experience this problem before, after and even during chemotherapy. It can also be found in old people.
In the past, doctors knew that radiation treatment can thinking and memory problems among cancer patients. But most recently they have found that chemotherapy is also linked with the same kind of problems. Recent studies indicate that even some cancer drugs can lead to some changes in the functioning of brain, which in turn can cause memory lapse in people. Although this cognitive impairment is most of the times a temporary side effect resulting after chemotherapy, in some cases, this can last for ten years or even more. These changes prevent patients from leading a normal life again. Research is currently being done in order to prevent and treat chemo brain in patients.
Some of the Symptoms of Chemo Brain are-

• Memory lapses or forgetting things that are a part of day to day life
• Short attention span or decreased concentration
• Trouble remembering names, dates or certain events
• Trouble in multi-tasking normal activities like talking to someone while cooking
• Losing track of things, difficulty in completing a sentence or remembering an incident
• Taking a long time to finish a normal daily activity as one tends to slow down
• Being disorganized, messy and confused at times
• Slow thinking and processing abilities

Causes of Chemo Brain

There could be one or many causes of chemo brain. Cancer patients who do not undergo chemotherapy might also suffer with problems after getting hormone treatments such as androgen or estrogen blockers. If the treatment is combined with chemotherapy, patients might experience many different problems that would further worsen the function of the brain.
The chemotherapy drugs act upon the nerve cells and damage the myelin sheath. This cannot be repaired easily and hence the transmission of impulses is disrupted. This leads to the cognitive dysfunction after chemotherapy. This varies from tingling in hands and feet to loss of vision, dementia, etc.

Noticing Signs of Brain Chemo

Technically, it is called as “mild cognitive impairment.” It can be roughly defined as the inability to remember simple things, trouble finishing tasks or learning new skills. This usually gets better after the treatment is over. However, sometimes this condition appears years after the treatment is over and it can stay for a very long time. This can hamper the quality of life of the patient.

For most people, chemo brain effects occur and vanish within a short span of time. However, the changes that a patient notices are extremely subtle. They cannot be recognized by even close family members or friends initially. Unfortunately, many patients ignore or joke about this condition initially and do not bother to discuss this issue with their doctors until it starts affecting their everyday life. Others have long-term mental changes. Usually the changes that patients notice are very subtle, and others around them may not even notice any changes at all. There are some people who notice certain drastic changes and are well aware of their condition.

The very thought of this condition can be scary for most people. Accepting the fact that the patient takes time to do simple things, has a problem communicating, remembering things, calculating, etc is really hard. The patient would forget some simple things like closing the door while going out or switching of the lights while leaving the room, etc. In this case, it is essential that the family members, friends, colleagues and acquaintances are extremely supportive and understanding.

Factors that can Aggravate Brain Chemo
The problems of brain could get worsened by the following factors. It can be any one or a combination of the following factors:

• Memory loss can be caused by the cancer itself
• Some other drugs used along with the cancer treatments. These mostly include the drugs to prevent a few common side effects.
• The age of the patient
• Stress level
• High or low blood count
• Problems with sleep
• Depression problem
• Feeling tired

• Patients experiencing hormone changes or if they are undergoing hormone treatments
• Diabetes or high blood pressure
• Deficiency of nutrition in the patient
•  If the patient is emotional, distressed or anxious
• Depression

Coping With Chemo Brain
Things can get difficult if have problem coping with your daily routine if you have memory lapses,. However, you can take a few measures to manage your mundane routine. Try to pen down everything on a planner. You can have a daily, weekly and a monthly planner. This will remind you to finish your pending work and also keep your appointments. You can also note down the important phone numbers, addresses, websites, or whatever you think is important.

Try to exercise your brain as much as you can. You can take up a hobby class and learn something new. Do not get stressed if you find that you have this problem; get plenty of rest and learn to relax. Exercise on a regular basis. This will help you to have good health and also have a feeling of well being; people who exercise also tend to be more alert.

Have a balanced and nutritional diet. Many researches show that including more vegetables in your diet tends to help retain the brain power in people.

Do not hesitate to ask for help when you need it. Also, inform your friends and colleagues about your problem so that they can more understating towards you and help you to cope with things. Also inform your doctor about this problem.

Chemotherapy brain is still under research for exact causes and treatment. Several patients complain about neurological side effects like memory loss, seizures, loss of vision and dementia. Initially these cognitive disabilities were considered as a part of the stress, fatigue, anxiety and depression that this dreadful disease and its treatment lead to. However, now with growing evidence of more such patients, doctors call this as chemo brain. Although, this has been accepted that chemotherapy drugs adversely affect the brain function, the exact underlying cause has to be identified.