[Carol.hope]

Hi Melanie. Glad to be in touch.

It's interesting to me that two of my worse symptoms are two of the few you didn't check. I have extreme sensitivity to sound, even 2-1/2 years after stopping the drugs. Can't be in restaurants, stores, parties, concerts, can't even listen to myself play the piano (although my noise-canceling headphones help). If two people are talking (one in the background), or there is background music, my brain can't understand what either one is saying. Can't be around kids, or barking dogs. I had to move to a house with electric baseboard heat (couldn't stand the sound of fans), etc.

I read that 80% of the brain's energy goes to filtering. So I guess it doesn't have enough energy to filter out background noises. It gets overwhelmed when it uses up its reserves, and then it can't operate properly.

My other main symptom is fatigue, which I think comes from the brain having to work so hard just to do regular things. I have had most of the others, too, but some of them have improved. I do Sudoku puzzles to exercise some part of my brain, and also to shut it off from its frazzle state. I can read again, if the book is not too complicated or poetic. Yeah! Forget movies or t.v. though.

I just read another article saying chemo-brain is a myth. HA! I'm sure those researchers don't have it!

I think I will call the author of that book (Brainlash)and see if she would be interested in following up with stories from cancer survivors. Maybe if we document it and give it a new name, we can get some help and guidance. Now with more and more people getting all these drugs with Stage I cancer, I think more people will benefit if we speak up.

Are others willing to tell their stories? This is such a great site for gathering and sharing info, in addition to finding compassion.

Thanks so much to Christine, Joe and the other leaders!