Hi my mum is 60 and has SCLC, she has just finished a 6 course treatment of chemotherapy, and she has also been on a drugs trial.
My concerns are that she has started to have difficulty remembering certain words, not being able to say words correctly, not being able to express/say how she is feeling as she cannot string the words together correctly, confusion, not being able to do certain tasks that she once did with ease i.e. her suduko, crosswords, her concentration span is minimal, basically she is displaying all the symptoms of someone who has suffered a mild stoke! She has been given all the tests/scans for a stroke and they have all come back negative so that has been ruled out.
She is very depressed and this is making her even more depressed (as you can imagine), I have read about something called 'chemo brain' and wondered if anybody else had heard of this condition or experience it.
We saw a doctor today (07-08-09) at the hospital and he said he had never heard of the term 'chemo brain' he had asked other consultants above him and they too had never heard of the term chemo brain or come across anyone displaying the symptoms my mum has.
While my mum was receiving her chemo she was fine, it’s just now that her treatment has finished she has started to feel this way. I am very concerned with how she is, she has always had a very good active mind, she tells me she feels as if she is going mad and at times she displays some of the symptoms of someone who is maybe starting to get dementia, she cant deal with how she is at all and is very tearfull at times, its very distressing to see her this way struggling for the right words. We have hit a brick wall as in terms of help from the hospital, they haven’t heard of this or come across anyone ever suffering similar symptoms to my mum, but on the Cancer Research UK website they have dedicated a whole section to 'chemo brain' so we just dont understand what is going on, we need help. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE if anyone has suffered similar symptoms or know of anyone suffering in this way then can you please contact me, we just want some answers to what is wrong or to know that there is others out there going through or been through a similar experience, many thanks Kellie.
Hi Mark
Wow that has made interesting reading I must say, thank you very much indeed for sourcing out that information, the more I gather the better my mum is feeling, I will read her all this and I know that it will make her feel a lot better.
I hope that you are feeling better yourself and that you have made a full recovery or at least well on the way to one, take care best, wishes Kellie.
Hi Kellie
I had very aggressive chemo and total body radiation and a bone marrow transplant and a year down the line I still have difficulty getting words out as well as having memory issues. I am in my 40's and find it very frustrating.
Hi Killiex2 , I spent 16 weeks in hospital got out in September , I've had chemo brain / chemo fog , it's where we get confused or say the wrong thing or forget things , it's common after having chemo , I had it , it can take months to a year to clear up everyone is different as to their chemo journey.
