For over a decade cancer patients have complained of difficulty with concentration and memory during chemotherapy treatments. Some survivors even experienced it well after their treatment had ended. Other complaints included persistent fatigue, depression, difficulty with multitasking, and poor sleep.
While cancer treatments have resulted in longer intervals of disease-free survival after treatment has ended, the number of survivors who want, or need, to quickly return to their pre-diagnosis routines and lifestyle is increasing. The transition back into a normal lifestyle is complicated by the post-treatment effects as a result of toxic and prolonged treatment from surgery, radiation, chemotherapy or biotherapy.
Chemobrain, also called brain fog, impairs the survivors executive functioning (making decisions, keeping track of things, multitasking, etc), information processing speed (where the brain is working but the survivor feels like they are in slow motion), language or speech recognition (when the survivor cannot remember the right words to use), and attention span and memory recall (they are easily distracted).
In a recent article published by the Journal of Clinical Oncology, it reported a number of clinical trial studies underway to look at the connection between cancer treatments and a patient’s cognitive functioning. In comparative studies evaluating the effect of chemotherapy exposure to the brain’s white matter in patients three to four months after treatment, scientists learned that patients who were treated with chemotherapy experienced significant declines in their cognitive abilities. Further study revealed that changes to the brain did not affect all chemotherapy patients and that the changes were generally found in the survivors who had reported these physical and cognitive symptoms.
While there were some limitations to the study it seems that post-treatment effects were more noticeable in patients who had multiple exposures to cancer treatments, such as combinations of chemotherapy with other treatments including radiation or biotherapy. Study findings are not yet conclusive enough to make a direct correlation between a specific type of treatment and its singular or multiple exposures to a survivor. But, it does imply that some treatment regimens may be more strongly associated with cognitive changes than others.
Patients and survivors who complain of cognitive difficulties must be carefully watched by their oncologist and health care team to avoid any long-term deficit or challenges with returning to a normal lifestyle. Not all patients will develop cognitive deficits, and the potential for side effects should not prevent a patient from taking advantage of the best available care for their condition. But, if a cancer patient does begin to experience symptoms of decreased function or ability to think or carry on their normal routines they should immediately consult with their physician.
To read more about chemobrain, click here.
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