Forum Discussion
Has your memory been affected post treatment?
hi everyone,
I was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer in 2015 and did surgery, TAC chemo (5 months), radiotherapy and I take aromatase inhibitor medication for a 10 year period. After my treatment was complete I noticed my mind would really struggle to stay focused and in general I forget things much more than previously. I have always been in a professional office environment and done well in my career. I wanted to go back to work for a sense of purposes as I love to work.
I went back to work full time in 2017 and started a new job, this was the right timing as it was after the treatment was over and my appearance was back to normal (hair grown back etc).
When returning to work again this is when I have really noticed how much I struggle with retaining information, it’s so hard for me to remember anything new that I learn whereas previously I was able to learn things and remember them with no issues.
I have to practice three times as hard to remember anything and even then, it may fly out of my mind in an instant.
Am I the only one to experience this? I am only 39 years young so I can’t blame it on old age.
If anyone out there can relate I’d love to know tips on helping this ailment, it’s hard enough going through such a traumatic life experience and then integrating back into the workplace and keeping up with everyone else (I haven’t shared that I am a cancer survivor as this is something very private to me) so when Im trying so much harder than everyone else to remember things, it seems so unfair...I’d like to know if this is common for others post treatment or maybe just my issue.
Thanks in advance, I feel like this is a genuine problem in my life now when externally I look fine and no one would know...
I was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer in 2015 and did surgery, TAC chemo (5 months), radiotherapy and I take aromatase inhibitor medication for a 10 year period. After my treatment was complete I noticed my mind would really struggle to stay focused and in general I forget things much more than previously. I have always been in a professional office environment and done well in my career. I wanted to go back to work for a sense of purposes as I love to work.
I went back to work full time in 2017 and started a new job, this was the right timing as it was after the treatment was over and my appearance was back to normal (hair grown back etc).
When returning to work again this is when I have really noticed how much I struggle with retaining information, it’s so hard for me to remember anything new that I learn whereas previously I was able to learn things and remember them with no issues.
I have to practice three times as hard to remember anything and even then, it may fly out of my mind in an instant.
Am I the only one to experience this? I am only 39 years young so I can’t blame it on old age.
If anyone out there can relate I’d love to know tips on helping this ailment, it’s hard enough going through such a traumatic life experience and then integrating back into the workplace and keeping up with everyone else (I haven’t shared that I am a cancer survivor as this is something very private to me) so when Im trying so much harder than everyone else to remember things, it seems so unfair...I’d like to know if this is common for others post treatment or maybe just my issue.
Thanks in advance, I feel like this is a genuine problem in my life now when externally I look fine and no one would know...
23 Replies
- @Bowie2015 I have the same issues with remembering things sometimes. I have a new management position, which means multitasking, including writing new curriculum and dealing with students. I put a lot of info on my phone, use sticky notes and the diary in Outlook sends me reminders. Technology is really helpful for me. Having a good sleep makes all the difference and my memory is getting better at the 3 year mark. When I am stressed, I forget things a lot. I think it will get better. All the best.
- I can so relate to AllyJay 's and Zoffiel's comments.
My first experience of reduced memory and cognitive function came with natural menapause. Going on HRT really improved that for me as did the addition of fish oil tablets.
of course, a breast cancer diagnosis 2 1/2 years after starting HRT ruined that for me.
I found just going off the HRT while waiting for surgery and during recovery put me right back to the struggle with words, names and sentence structure. It was much worse when I was tired, to the extent that I could no longer continue a conversation. I either stopped all together or made no sense. This is still the case today, after chemo and starting on the Femara.
I try crosswords puzzles and word games to keep my mind ticking over a little. Am working on training my horse using new methods that I have to memorise and am reading again alot.
It has improved slightly 5 months after finishing chemo, I can now remember what I have gone to the shops for if it is only a few things, but I always carry a list, which I have to refer to often.
I really hope it does improve, I get quite depressed when doing a crossword puzzle and the words that I know are floating just out of reach do not come, and I get a feeling of thinking through a thick fog.
Knowing we are all battling it is a little reassuring but no less frustrating. - Absolutely. I have found its even worse since starting Tamoxifen a few months ago. Even typing on here I re read what I've written 10 times to make sure it all makes sense LOL. Words come out back wards and sentences get mixed up. Spelling and grammar are definitely not what they used to be. I have the attention span of a 3 year old on some days. Work can be interesting on really busy days if I get a bad case of brain fog!
Not some thing we get prepared for. I knew about chemo brain but just assumed it would go when chemo was finished.
I have a little routine that I think helps a bit. Berocca first up in the morning. 10 mins on the phone using the Elevate app to get me thinking (some days difficult) and I make a conscious (that just took three goes to spell properly) effort to keep trying to remember stuff and not always rely on notes. I have my notes but really try hard to use them as a back up and see if I can remember first.
Even when you query it with the doctors its just one of those many things that gets dismissed I found. The only answer you seem to ever get is "the benefit of the treatment outweighs the side effects".....well sometimes it makes me wonder???? - I took up a daily 1 hour walk and find this helps clear my head , calm my nerves and generally makes me feel better.I have never been an exercise kind of person but find it really helps me and I need to do it.I’m not medical but think it may help by oxygenating the brain.A bc lady in her 70s talked me into it - she walks everyday at 6 am regardless of weather as she said that way there is nothing to interrupt her exercise. I have a family and lots of other commitments so vary my times according to them but try not to miss as I know it makes such a difference.Finally with a young child and work that itself is stressful and stress plays havoc with memory - I had my first child at 40 and twins at 47 and remember well being exhausted at the end of the day and going to sleep around 8 pm - the first few years went past in a blur after each pregnancy.Be gentle with yourself you are carrying quite a load - get plenty of sleep , try to take a little time for yourself including time to exercise , think about the foods you eat and if family/friend support is available to lighten the load don’t be too proud to accept it - this super woman bull is just that.
- "...cognitive and emotional symptoms such as anxiety, depression, difficulty concentrating and poor memory..." from the booklet link below
https://www.bcna.org.au/media/2131/menopause_booklet.pdf
There's a combination of reasons that come about with treatment and it's side effects! The aftermath doesn't appear to be something that all of us are prepared for. It unfolds and we are wondering is this normal, does this improve, what the!
Hope the above resource helps you, no matter what age you are it is a real effect that hopefully you will be able to find coping mechanisms to bring back the you that you want to be in the workplace.
I've always written notes and or keywords in my working and home life - it is a prompt to remind me about something
Take care - Whether it's the chemo, the lack or hormones, trauma from the diagnosis and or the surgery, lack of sleep or all of the above, I'm afraid what's left of my brain is truly stuffed. I've always been very fluid in my speech and vocabulary and have used words as tools, playthings and even weapons in the past. Now I'm reduced to everything being the "thingy" The clicky thingy (remote), the sucky outy thingy (usb stick..it sucks out stuff from one computer and spits it out into another), the picky outy thingy (tweezers), the cutty thingy (scissors) and so on. Maddening!!! Numbers are just hopeless...I get them all muddled up and back to front, or just forgotten all together. Me being reduced to tears in the bank when I was trying to withdraw cash from the atm and my pin number was a mystery to me was terrible. When doing the shopping list, if I get distracted, I have to go back to the beginning...washing liquid, fabric softner, bleach, Preen....etc. If I'm up to, say, Whiskers and kitty biscuits and the phone rings, I have to go back to the washing liquid and start again. It seems for me that it's the sequences that get scrambled. For me being titless and hairless is one thing, but by far the worst is being witless...sighhh...
- I know how you feel. I've always been a fairly 'high end' thinker with an excellent memory. I studied while I was in treatment and have changed careers. I started my new job 5 months ago-- the people who recruited me knew me before I got thrown back into the mincer. I am really struggling and I think it's getting worse. Ive done the cancer thing twice in ten years and I think my brain is ruined.
I'm no longer as tired as l was, but by mid afternoon I'm unable to remember things. I forget people's names. If I'm working on a report I get all muddled up and start going in circles. I work mainly from home and I'm too embarrassed to bill for all the time I'm spending on my projects. I spend hours of my own time rereading things, editing what I did the day before and trying to set myself up so I don't make idiotic mistakes. It is horrible and I want it to stop. - Hi! Yes I write down everything too, I can literally repeat something back that someone tells me and then forget it half a second later with no clue what I just said - it’s tough.
I have had a preventative total hysterectomy and ooperectomy so I don’t have estrogen from reproductive organs anymore - I take exemestane to block it from the other parts of my body (tissue etc). - I struggled initially when I went back to work and literally had to write everything down. Even now I carry a diary and notebook and write down keys words from coversations so I can recall it later. Anything new learned on computers...I write it step by step.
My memory has got better but when I'm stressed or overtired I have trouble recalling names etc. I finished chemo in August last year and Herceptin this year. I'm still regaining my pre chemo fitness. I believe exercise is helping my mental alertness...providing I don't over do it. I remain on letrozole and will do for at least another 4 years. - Hi ladies, thanks for your feedback and suggestions. No I didn’t tell my current employers as I wanted a fresh start without the ‘oh how are you feelingggg?’
So at my current company I am just like anyone else there which is great for my wellbeing but not so great when I struggle with the memory.
I had a baby 4 years ago and def suffered mummy brain and it was an adjustment when I went back to work afterwards but this is truly on a whole other level and it really does make me silently struggle at work and in general.
I never thought it could be the hormone treatment affecting my memory as aid put it down to chemo but from what I read this afternoon, others seem to have memory side effects from the medication. Most people seem to have reported it who are on tamoxifen whereas I am on Exemestane so not sure if others have found my type affects their memory too.
