mwhcrew Posted February 8, 2007 Share Posted February 8, 2007 My mother was diagnosed in June with stage IV nsclc with metastases to the brain. They immediately began whole brain radiation therapy, which they did for 4 weeks, followed by stereotactic radiation and then chemo. The tests have all come back saying the brain tumors are dead and the other tumors are shrinking, which is great news. However, she's exhibiting a lot of the symptoms of dementia, which she believes to be chemobrain. She's forgetful, but has only recently started having cognitive difficulties (eg. today she was looking for her scarf in her checkbook). They're doing another brain MRI on Monday, but does anyone out there know anything about chemobrain, and is the possibility there to get better? I know the statistics for stage IV cancer aren't great, and I know that dementia is one of the side effects of WBRT (occuring in 50% of 2-yr. survivors). Is there any hope? tx. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandyW Posted February 8, 2007 Share Posted February 8, 2007 Check out this link froim Mayo Clinic on Chemo Brain and treatment and help for this conditiion. I can not offer anything personally but saw this and thought maybe something would help here. Prayers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wendyr Posted February 8, 2007 Share Posted February 8, 2007 My husband was an air conditioning contractor for 25 years and had personally built 3 houses plus the building from which he ran his business. Last summer he tried building an extra bathroom in our house. He couldn't get the basin drain right and his light switches were all upside down. It lasted about 3 months and now he's fine. We just tried to keep it light and blamed it on chemo brain Wendy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mary colleen Posted February 8, 2007 Share Posted February 8, 2007 My husband is 52. We have had similar issues throughout chemo - I have to fill in ordinary nouns (such as the name of our street) in nearly every conversation, which is ok! He completed chemo a couple of weeks ago, and I can see that these issues are improving in subtle ways already. How old is your Mom, by the way? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwhcrew Posted February 8, 2007 Author Share Posted February 8, 2007 Thanks everyone. My mother was 57 when diagnosed, 58 now. She's having trouble and mixing up things, like I am going to visit her tomorrow but she told my aunt that I'm not coming tomorrow, plus mixing up other words. It helps knowing the symptoms might get better, though this isn't a path I'd choose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dchurchi Posted February 8, 2007 Share Posted February 8, 2007 Alan has had short term memory and recall issues since his WBR in addition to issues with his hearing The radiation completely zapped his tumor and has had clear MRI's since Sept 2005. we are able to manage and will take these "issues" now that his tumor is gone from his brain. Prayers for your family Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
recce101 Posted February 8, 2007 Share Posted February 8, 2007 Hi, and welcome to the LCSC -- undoubtedly the finest place on the Web for lung cancer information and support. While I can't answer your specific questions, I know there are others here who have had first-hand experience, probably as caregivers, with chemo/radiation/dementia issues. Some of them should be answering your post soon. But for the most complete and authoritative answer available, I'd like to point you to one of our professional members, Dr. Howard (Jack) West, a medical oncologist based in Seattle, Washington. Dr. West sometimes answers questions posted on this site (click "Search" at the top of the screen, type "DrWest" without quotes in the "Search for Author" box, and hit your Enter key for a list of LCSC topics containing responses from him), but he spends more of his online time working with his own website, onctalk.com. He actually prefers answering questions on one of his onctalk.com discussion forums, and from what I've seen, posting there will assure you of a very fast response -- amazingly fast for a busy physician. As you'll discover, providing information in this manner carries a very high priority with him. I always check the left-hand column on onctalk.com for new items before coming here, and I'll be watching for your question and Dr. West's answer! Best wishes and Aloha, Ned Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aceking Posted February 8, 2007 Share Posted February 8, 2007 Hi. My aunt, although she didn't have lung cancer, had breast cancer and a gnarly!!!! case of chemo brain that lasted about 6 mos. and still has very minor residual effects. However, my aunt is a civil rights trial lawyer in Chicago, and although when she had chemo brain (and took a leave of absence from her practice) I would not have hired her as my attorney NOW, I would NOT mess with her!! She is back on her game! occasionally forgets directions, but that's about it. So keep the faith. It comes back. Debbi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick C Posted February 8, 2007 Share Posted February 8, 2007 Wow, I had no idea there were such great stories of recovery from the neuro side effects! It's good to know this. When I did the research on WBR, they mentioned some memory loss and whatnot, but it seems that things can get better, which is good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
janehill Posted February 8, 2007 Share Posted February 8, 2007 Look, I really don't want to minimize anything your mom is going through BUT.....I'm 40 and the stress alone of my mother's illness has caused me a level of absentmindedness I can't even describe. I forget virtually everything - even with detailed lists. And in the most stressful moments I have caught myself looking for the milk container in a desk drawer and for other things is grossly inappropriate and implausible places. Certainly, I'm not going to compare myself with someone who has endured brain radiation but I want you to remain very positive because the stress of illness alone can be overwhelming to the brain. So.....it may all be quite normal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwhcrew Posted February 8, 2007 Author Share Posted February 8, 2007 Thanks so much everyone. It's just good to hear that things can get better. I learned from my aunts today that they think the sudden change could be due to a new medication she's on which is supposed to increase her appetite, they think it may be a bad drug interaction. I will finally get to see her tonight, which will be a great relief to me. Thanks for all the support. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Judy-OK Posted February 9, 2007 Share Posted February 9, 2007 I am the same age as your mom and have had the chemo but not the brain radiation. I can remember literally laughing so hard I almost fell out of my bed when I was trying to make a phone call using the VCR control. There is so much trying to go through her brain that things can get down right confusing. I learned to laugh at myself and keep on going. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowflake Posted February 9, 2007 Share Posted February 9, 2007 It's scary, though, if you're driving in a familiar town and get lost. I've also arrived places and wondered how I got there and where I had been going... I've seen a neuropsychologist and had brain MRIs - it's attributed to stress. Family stress, job stress, and the stress of knowing that at any time, the monster could come back. Yep, just a bit of stress there... I know that my grandmother had some issues with confusion and a blood test showed she was low on potassium - once the potassium level came back up, she was less fuzzy-headed. Bananas are a natural source of potassium. Good luck on clearing up the fog and NOT running red lights while making a left turn on a busy street (my spouse's fingerprints are still imbedded on my dashboard - he was the unlucky passenger). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.