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...

BRAIN FART BRAIN FART BRAIN FART!! have them every day lovey, I found accepting that I don't have the memory I had prior to chemo is the best thing now for me, I write everything down, leave empty packets of stuff on the front seat of my car or in my bag so I don't forget to buy it, do a job straight away or write it down, my desk at work is always covered in notes but I'm ok with it now, I'm 45 and finished chemo oct 2016 and just accept that this is my new normal. I also find humor helps me to not beat myself up about it too. Margie:)

Hi @Bowie2015, I also have become one of the memory impaired due to Tamoxifen. I asked my oncologist about the lack of memory and she advised (like @kezmusc) getting onto the mobile phone app called Elevate. It is a brain training app that has numerous puzzles and you complete them each day - takes less than 5 minutes and I have found it has made a huge difference. I no longer walk into a room to get something, get there and can't remember what it was I was looking for, leave room and then repeat x 16!!! I have just completed some study and whilst I did remember some things I had definitions that had to be verbatim and had to write lines (like the old punishment from school) so that I remembered them - thankfully I passed but honestly brainwise compared to where I was this time last year - I now feel like a genius!!! Bwahahahaha OK maybe not, but a whole lot better!! All the best, hope yours gets back to a normal you feel comfortable with and can cope with. It is incredibly frustrating. Xx Cath

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.

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.

I finished chemo in 2011 and still struggle sometimes, although I'm 53 so maybe its a symptom of getting old LOL :wink: One of the biggest problems I have is that I cannot seem to concentrate on one task for too long, even following a shopping list is a challenge and if I'm shopping on my own, its not uncommon for me to come home WITHOUT things on the list. Its a good thing my husband usually shops with me otherwise we would be living at the shops getting the stuff I missed!As with others who have commented, I keep notes on my desk at work and on the kitchen bench and empty packets around to remind me of things. It is a bit frustrating however in the scheme of things and how they could be, I can cope with having an empty head sometimes. :smile:

Has your memory been affected post treatment?

23 Replies

wannawoma
Member
8 years ago
I finished chemo in 2011 and still struggle sometimes, although I'm 53 so maybe its a symptom of getting old LOL :wink:
One of the biggest problems I have is that I cannot seem to concentrate on one task for too long, even following a shopping list is a challenge and if I'm shopping on my own, its not uncommon for me to come home WITHOUT things on the list. Its a good thing my husband usually shops with me otherwise we would be living at the shops getting the stuff I missed!
As with others who have commented, I keep notes on my desk at work and on the kitchen bench and empty packets around to remind me of things.
It is a bit frustrating however in the scheme of things and how they could be, I can cope with having an empty head sometimes. :smile:
Brenda5
Member
8 years ago
It's funny, everything memorized before the cancer is fine. Its the learning stuff after is my bugbear. In one ear and out the other most of the time. I carry a note book now.
primek
Member
8 years ago
@Bowie2015 You need to scroll down to the 3rd trial. Regarding cognitive behaviours. Looks like a brain training trial post chemo.

I found it reading about the other trials. No way to link it separately.
socoda
Member
8 years ago
Hi @Bowie2015, I also have become one of the memory impaired due to Tamoxifen. I asked my oncologist about the lack of memory and she advised (like @kezmusc) getting onto the mobile phone app called Elevate. It is a brain training app that has numerous puzzles and you complete them each day - takes less than 5 minutes and I have found it has made a huge difference. I no longer walk into a room to get something, get there and can't remember what it was I was looking for, leave room and then repeat x 16!!! I have just completed some study and whilst I did remember some things I had definitions that had to be verbatim and had to write lines (like the old punishment from school) so that I remembered them - thankfully I passed but honestly brainwise compared to where I was this time last year - I now feel like a genius!!! Bwahahahaha OK maybe not, but a whole lot better!! All the best, hope yours gets back to a normal you feel comfortable with and can cope with. It is incredibly frustrating. Xx Cath
onemargie
Member
8 years ago
Hi there again I’ve decided to buy a diary for next year so I can put stuff in it. Fingers crossed I remember to write in the bloody thing in the first place lol
Bowie2015
Member
8 years ago

primek said:

I was just reading about clinical trials and they are doing one around memory post chemo. Conducted in Sydney for those interested.

https://www.bcna.org.au/understanding-breast-cancer/clinical-trials/clinical-trials-for-women-who-have-completed-active-treatment/

Thank you, I just looked at the link and I don’t think that one is about memory lol :)
primek
Member
8 years ago
I was just reading about clinical trials and they are doing one around memory post chemo. Conducted in Sydney for those interested.

https://www.bcna.org.au/understanding-breast-cancer/clinical-trials/clinical-trials-for-women-who-have-completed-active-treatment/
Payne
Member
8 years ago
My former memory is a distant, fading memory. I finished chemo in March and radiation in May. Last Herceptin last week. Went back to work in September but not in my usual job as an RN. Definitely not up to that. Now work for an Acupuncturist and only had to learn a new computer system plus Hicaps etc but I struggled. I would note the patients name and treatment room number but halfway down corridor forgot both and had to go back to reception to recap. Now I write EVERYTHING down and carry it with me. If I am the last to leave, I have to close everything down and set alarm. This takes everyone else short time but I have to follow my own check list and recheck and recheck. Then I sit outside the building going over the checklist and worry I might have forgotten something. Its getting better. Continuing with crosswords and quizzes helps but also emphasises memory loss when I can't remember something which I know I should easily. Frustrating and a bit scary. Overall, my memory has improved. When I think back to, say, last month or last 3 months, I can see its not as bad. Oncologist said 'chemo brain' usually improves to nearly normal, given time. This was not reassuring as 'usually" and 'nearly normal' was not the answer I liked. I agree, a sense of humour makes things easier. Sue
onemargie
Member
8 years ago
BRAIN FART BRAIN FART BRAIN FART!! have them every day lovey, I found accepting that I don't have the memory I had prior to chemo is the best thing now for me, I write everything down, leave empty packets of stuff on the front seat of my car or in my bag so I don't forget to buy it, do a job straight away or write it down, my desk at work is always covered in notes but I'm ok with it now, I'm 45 and finished chemo oct 2016 and just accept that this is my new normal. I also find humor helps me to not beat myself up about it too. Margie:)
Brenda5
Member
8 years ago
I got the triple whammy of chemo brain, menopause and Tamoxifen. It is at least not getting any worse. Depression is a strength sapper and I try hard not to go down that scary road again. I take a low dose of CBD oil daily and it does seem to be improving my brain. It also staves off depression. I don't drive any more though.
I am 55 now and at the 18mth mark in Tamoxifen. I had my first full energy day in 2 years the other day. I made the most of it and went swimming with my son in the ocean and we had a beach walk and then we walked a few kms up to the shops. The next day however I was back in bed with the flu. Oh well, at least there is the promise of one day getting back to the normal I had pre cancer.