Cancer Support and Caregivers Who Are Trail Blazers!

[DapperButch]

Originally Posted by deb_U_taunt

The chemo fog has lifted a lot but its been a year and I want to be me again!!!!
I am giving myself another 6 months tops, I need my brain back dammit!!!

From the Mayo Clinic:
Although post-chemotherapy cognitive impairment appears to be temporary, it can be quite long-lived, with some cases lasting 10 years or more.

Hi, deb.

Yes, the chemo fog has been quite hard for me as well, and my 6 months of chemo ended in 3/2011. The worst for me is word finding. It has become a bit better, but is still an ongoing, daily problem. I also seem to skip words when writing, or write the wrong word.

Additionally, although it has gotten better, immediate memory is a problem. Three or four sentences into a paragraph, I can't remember what the first and second sentence said. I had actually planned to return to graduate school for an additional degree, but wasn't able to get through the GRE due to the above problem. It is better, but since it has been so long, I don't know if it will become good enough to be able to return to school.

Evidently, the biggest reduction in chemo fog happens in the first year. After this, it either leaves much more slowly or doesn't get any better.

What type of chemo did you get? I received 5FU for colon cancer.