Chemo Brain or Chemotherapy Cognitive Impairment
Some cancer patients are affected more by chemo brain than others. While for many the brain will recover over time, some patients experience seemingly more long-term effects. Whether temporary or permanent, these changes can make it difficult to function normally in their daily activities such as going to work, school, or social activities.
Chemo brain symptoms are:
- Memory lapses for things that one can usually remember
- Having trouble concentration or focusing
- Cannot remember details such as names, dates, and events
- Unable to multi-task or do more than one thing at a time
- Thinking slower and taking longer to finishing a task
- Trouble remembering common words or completing a sentence
- Fatigue
- Feeling of mental fogginess
- Taking longer than usual to complete routine tasks
In this study published in April 2013 and led by a breast cancer survivor who discovered Neurofeedback to help herself, 23 breast cancer survivors who reported Cognitive Impairment following chemotherapy undertook 20 sessions of Neurofeedback, and their cognitive function was measured before and after: Alvarez, J., Meyer, F. L., Granoff, D. L., & Lundy, A. (2013). The Effect of EEG Biofeedback on Reducing Postcancer Cognitive Impairment. Integrative cancer therapies. 21 out of 23 participants saw their symptoms ‘reversed’. “Strongly significant improvements” were seen on all 4 cognitive measures, all 4 psychological measures, fatigue and some sleep measures. The researchers concluded that Neurofeedback “has potential for reducing the negative cognitive and emotional sequelae of cancer treatment as well as improving fatigue and sleep patterns”.
To learn more about Neurofeedback for Chemo Brain, visit: www.braintrainuk.com
