Cognitive Rehabilitation

AlaskaAngel · 10-28-2014, 08:45 AM

The cognitive problems I had fell into 3 categories:

1. When I was treated in 2002 and asked about chemobrain, my onc said "in 25-30 years of treating patients, I can count the number of patients on one hand who were totally disabled mentally by treatment". Because I could not get any scientific answer to my question, on my own dime I had a standard mental testing done at the time as a baseline. For cost reasons I have not had testing repeated. But my point here is, why hadn't it been similarly investigated medically BEFORE exposing patients to such treatment in the adjuvant setting? If I could think of it with my puny brain, why hadn't it been done?

2. I had some problems during treatment and in the "recovery" period afterward.

3. I too had to give up working 10 years after completing treatment when such things as multitasking and executive function were involved.

Hopeful posted this article link recently, and although my ability to find an earlier article she posted about the impacts on work doesn't seem to be functional enough for me to find that article, maybe she will see this and post it for us again:

http://her2support.org/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=62037

AlaskaAngel · 10-28-2014, 10:28 AM

Talk about forgetfulness.... I meant to mention that I also wonder about an experience I had during chemo. I was up early and doing some paperwork the day after receiving my third dose of CAF and support steroids (plus anti-anxiety med), and was looking at the computer screen, and suddenly I could not see. Everything was black for both eyes, no matter how I tried straining to see. It lasted a few minutes. During that time I felt a cold wave start at the back of my head that slowly washed upward under the scalp, ending with my forehead. When it ended, my vision came back normal.

When I asked my providers about it, they asked if it had only happened once, and when I said yes they gave me a professional smile and changed the subject. No clinical note was ever made containing that information I provided to them.

A.A.