Study on Chemobrain

[harrie]

OPEN ACCESS: Confronting chemobrain: an in-depth look at survivors' reports of impact on work, social networks, and health care response [Journal of Cancer Survivorship / Summary]

Also just a note: I think my husband suffered from chemo brain similar to how husbands experience morning sickness when their wives are pregnant!!!

[chicagoetc]

I'm glad somebody is following up/researching this... I like the abstract. I know lots of people on this board have been affected via "chemobrain". [This probably has been the most frustrating side effect I've encountered...though I'm learning not to be so anxious about it and ways to adapt where possible.]

Melanie

Here's the abstract for others if you can't find it:

Confronting chemobrain: an in-depth look at survivors’ reports of impact on work, social networks, and health care response
Journal Journal of Cancer Survivorship
Publisher Springer New York
ISSN 1932-2259 (Print) 1932-2267 (Online)
Issue Volume 3, Number 4 / December, 2009
DOI 10.1007/s11764-009-0098-x
Pages 223-232
Subject Collection Medicine
SpringerLink Date Thursday, September 17, 2009

Confronting chemobrain: an in-depth look at survivors’ reports of impact on work, social networks, and health care response

Nelli Boykoff1, Mona Moieni2 and Saskia Karen Subramanian3 Contact Information
(1) Mayo Medical School, Rochester, MN, USA
(2) UCLA Center for Culture and Health, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
(3) Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, UCLA Center for Culture and Health, Semel Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, 760 Westwood Plaza, Box 62, Los Angeles, CA 90024-1759, USA

Received: 22 July 2008 Accepted: 18 August 2009 Published online: 16 September 2009

Abstract

Introduction

Mild cognitive impairment following chemotherapy is one of the most commonly reported post treatment symptoms by breast cancer survivors. This deterioration in cognitive function, commonly referred to as “chemobrain” or “chemofog,” was largely unacknowledged by the medical community until recent years. Although chemobrain has now become the subject of more vigorous exploration, little is known about this specific phenomenon’s psychosocial impact on breast cancer survivors. This research documents in-depth the effects that cognitive impairment has on women’s personal and professional lives, and our data suggest that greater attention needs to be focused on this arena of survivorship.
Methods The results are based on an in-depth qualitative study of 74 white and African American breast cancer survivors in California who experience post-treatment side effects. The data reported herein were obtained through the use of focus groups and in-depth interviews.

Results

Our data indicate that cognitive impairment can be problematic for survivors, with many asserting that it is their most troublesome post treatment symptom. Survivors report diminished quality of life and daily functioning as a result of chemobrain. Respondents detail a range of coping strategies that they are forced to employ in order to manage their social and professional lives.

Discussions/conclusions

Chemobrain significantly impairs a proportion of cancer survivors, at great cost to them economically, emotionally, and interpersonally. This suggests that more research needs to be conducted on the psychosocial ramifications of post treatment symptoms in order to inform the efforts of the medical and mental health communities as well as the support networks of survivors.

Implications for cancer survivors

A better and broader understanding of the effects of cognitive impairment both in the medical community and among lay people could pave the way for improved social and psychological services for this population.