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Cancer Related Brain Fog: How do you cope with it?

Posted by Laurie, Volunteer Mentor @roch, Dec 4, 2019

I attended an Empowered to Live Well Session on Cancer-Related Brain Fog at Rochester Cancer Education Center yesterday. Very interesting. I think the most important fact I learned is that it is a real thing, it is not just me. This condition is called many things: chemo fog, chemo brain, cancer-related cognitive impairment or cognitive dysfunction.

I copied the following from Connect Cancer Education page that suggesting following sites for additional information:

Both http://www.mayoclinic.org and http://www.cancer.org have information on Chemo Brain including signs, symptoms, questions to ask your doctor, and more.

Laurie

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Cancer: Managing Symptoms Support Group.

cfacarol | @cfacarol | Dec 5, 2019
In reply to @lisman1408 "Thank you Laurie! I’ve found several things that cause me to have brain fog on my..." + (show)
@lisman1408

Thank you Laurie! I’ve found several things that cause me to have brain fog on my cancer journey. For me the worst is the estrogen lowering medications we need to take for years after initial treatment. I was on Anastrozole first and thought I was loosing me mind! I couldn’t think straight at all, and my memory was so bad I just retreated from everyone because I felt like I was sliding into dementia. My husband makes fun of me and frequently makes ‘cute’ comments about my poor memory and cognitive function. It’s very hurtful, but I suppose that’s how he copes with my cancer journey. I have an amazing oncologist who has worked with me to try different medications to find one with the least side effects for me. She even gave me a break from meds for a few months this past summer to see how I responded. Within a few weeks off the meds, my cognitive function was pretty much back to normal. In late September I started on Exemestane, it’s not great, but better for me than Anastrozole or Tomoxifin that I’ve also tried. I’ve learned to adapt to these memory side effects by writing myself notes and using my iPad to calendar, and make lists to keep track of things. These cognitive side effects of breast cancer drugs aren’t often discussed, but for some of us, they are very real. Unfortunately, until there is a ’cure’, we must do the best we can to live with the treatments available. I try to look at the positives rather than dwell on the things that can’t be changed. But being positive about treatment is challenging sometimes too! I am grateful for the medical advances that we do have, and that breast cancer most often is no longer a death sentence.

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Is there any empirical evidence linking estrogen loss from AIs to cognitive function? I have not been able to find anything. I have been faithfully taking my letrozole for 5 months and seem to be confused and forgetful a lot, but maybe it’s because I just generally feel lousy.

REPLY
2 replies
lisman1408 | @lisman1408 | Dec 4, 2019

Thank you Laurie! I’ve found several things that cause me to have brain fog on my cancer journey. For me the worst is the estrogen lowering medications we need to take for years after initial treatment. I was on Anastrozole first and thought I was loosing me mind! I couldn’t think straight at all, and my memory was so bad I just retreated from everyone because I felt like I was sliding into dementia. My husband makes fun of me and frequently makes ‘cute’ comments about my poor memory and cognitive function. It’s very hurtful, but I suppose that’s how he copes with my cancer journey. I have an amazing oncologist who has worked with me to try different medications to find one with the least side effects for me. She even gave me a break from meds for a few months this past summer to see how I responded. Within a few weeks off the meds, my cognitive function was pretty much back to normal. In late September I started on Exemestane, it’s not great, but better for me than Anastrozole or Tomoxifin that I’ve also tried. I’ve learned to adapt to these memory side effects by writing myself notes and using my iPad to calendar, and make lists to keep track of things. These cognitive side effects of breast cancer drugs aren’t often discussed, but for some of us, they are very real. Unfortunately, until there is a ’cure’, we must do the best we can to live with the treatments available. I try to look at the positives rather than dwell on the things that can’t be changed. But being positive about treatment is challenging sometimes too! I am grateful for the medical advances that we do have, and that breast cancer most often is no longer a death sentence.

REPLY
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