This may not be the correct board to post this on. Please pass it on if it's not. I'm looking for research on chemobrain and/or frontal lobe syndrome. My daughter, now age 36, had a successful bone marrow transplant in 1999. However, there has been some brain damage from the treatment as well as the from the leukemia. I want to find studies on how to work around this disability - especially the short term memory loss and poor impulse control. Thanks.

I don't know the research on chemobrain, but I do know it exists! I am a 3 year breast cancer survivor. I didn't have the greatest memory before chemo., but I really don't have a good one now. My aunt also experienced the same thing after her chemo. Good luck!

I am not familiar with any research on chemobrain either...but I also know it exists. I am a seven year survivor of breast cancer. Prior to treatment I had an excellent memory. I was great at recalling numbers, names, just about everything. Since treatment, my short term memory is gone. I can be in them middle of a sentence, and go blank. It is so embarrasing. I must write everything down especially appointments. I can remember things from my childhood but recent memory is gone. I read, and can't remember anything I read. I can't participate in discussions. I quit my job because I felt incompetent.

I am not familiar with any research on chemobrain either...but I also know it exists. I am a seven year survivor of breast cancer. Prior to treatment I had an excellent memory. I was great at recalling numbers, names, just about everything. Since treatment, my short term memory is gone. I can be in them middle of a sentence, and go blank. It is so embarrasing. I must write everything down especially appointments. I can remember things from my childhood but recent memory is gone. I read, and can't remember anything I read. I can't participate in discussions. I quit my job because I felt incompetent.

Hello,
I hope I am in the right place. This is my first post, but I too suffer from chemobrain. I had leukemia, and was treated with chemo and radiation. I had both chemo and radiation given to me in the brain. It has been 10+ years, thank God but I still have terrible short term memory. Some people have suggested OTC supplements, but those didn't help.

I had breast cancer and after chemo experienced severe chemobrain which improved with time. I am taking Arimidex for 5 years, which some women think cause cognitive dysfunction. So I bought Nintendo DS game called Brain Age2 and played it about 20 minutes a day for over a year. I struggled with the games at first but as I worked at them, my memory improved. I also subscribed to Happy Neurons online for a while. Hope this helps!

Do a search for chemo brain on Mayoclinic.com Although it is not clear that Chemo is responsible for this syndrome it is suggested that Ritalin although not approved by the FDA for treatment of Chemo brain may be helpful in some studies.
Here is a list of the symptoms of Chemo brain.

Symptoms
By Mayo Clinic staff

Signs and symptoms of chemo brain may include:

* Being unusually disorganized
* Confusion
* Difficulty concentrating
* Difficulty finding the right word
* Difficulty learning new skills
* Difficulty multitasking
* Fatigue
* Feeling of mental fogginess
* Short attention span
* Short-term memory problems
* Taking longer than usual to complete routine tasks
* Trouble with verbal memory, such as remembering a conversation
* Trouble with visual memory, such as recalling an image or list of words

Signs and symptoms of cognitive or memory problems vary from person to person and are typically temporary, often subsiding within two years of completion of cancer treatment.

When to see a doctor
If you experience troubling memory or thinking problems, make an appointment with your doctor. Keep a journal of your signs and symptoms so that your doctor can better understand how your memory problems are affecting your everyday life.

A few weeks ago I bought three books on "chemo brain", all of which are very enlightening. They are "Chemobrain: How Cancer Therapies Can Affect Your Mind" by Stewart B Fleishman, MD; "Your Brain After Chemo: A Practical Guide to Lifting The Fog and Getting Bank Your Focus" by Dan Silverman, M.D. and Idelle Davidson, and "Cognition and Cancer", which is more of a large text book. The forward in the latter states "This book...the effect of cancer and cancer treatment on cogniture function...". I purchased all of these on Amazon, have completely read the first two, while the third will take a lot longer! The authors of Your Brian After Chemo, are speaking at the Wellness Center in Santa Monica, CA., on October 6th if anyone who reads this is close enough to attend what promises to be a fascinating evening. I was diagnosed with Stage 3B breast cancer at the end of December 2008, have undergone neo-adjuvant chemo, four surgeries and am almost halfway through radiation but my skin has erupted and finishing this may be a problem. I am due to take Tamoxifen when Herceptin has finished' however, it seems that may further effect the mind and so I need to do further research. My mind is like Jello, spontaneous recall is a problem and I hope the Posit Science Program I have purchased will help my memory improve. I am 56, I live in Sherman Oaks, CA., having arrived here from the UK in 1986. I hope this post has been helpful, and wish you all well.

Hi, I'm a 4yr breast cancer survivor, and I still suffer from chemo brain. I recently discovered a great book on the subject.
It title is "Your Brain After Chemo" a practical guide to lifting the fog and getting back your focus. By Dan Silverman,MD and Idell Davidson. A must read. I hope it helps you as much as it helped me.

Chemo brain does exist, whatever it is, and mine persists two years after treatment for lung cancer. I just started "Your Brain After Chemo," by Silverman and Davidson(?) and recommend it highly. The book has a useful set of practical recommendations, a sustained integrated program, to help cope with its effects. I recommend it (available on Amazon). Oncologists tend to shy away from the topic, or deny its existence, One researcher links it to a first-stage dementia, delerium, concluding that some chemo drugs may serve as a trigger. It's a hard condition to live with, and the book above has some useful suggestions.