Research Suggests 'Chemo Brain' May Involve Neurophysiological Change

[News]

For many years, breast cancer patients have reported experiencing difficulties with memory, concentration and other cognitive functions following cancer treatment. Whether this mental "fogginess" is psychosomatic or reflects underlying changes in brain function has been a bone of contention among scientists and physicians. Now, a new study led by Dr...

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[imdavidson]

I wrote about this study as well for the Huffington Post (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/idelle-davidson/chemo-brain-memory_b_3134912.html?utm_hp_ref=healthy-living). This is an important study because it clarifies some previous research looking at whether a patient's complaint of memory problems after treatment can be confirmed and quantified through testing.

And although it's good to have a way to confirm this phenomenon we call, "chemo brain," it's also true that the scientific community has known about it for years. Indeed, the literature on cancer-related cognitive impairment dates back to the mid 1990s.

In addition to this study, Dr. Ganz also is recruiting for a study on interventions. And that's the right idea. We now need to move forward with prevention and stop proving the obvious.