Managing Forgetfulness and Inability to Concentrate
Chemotherapy has been associated with problems related to thinking,
learning, and memory. These are referred to as cognitive
deficits or more commonly known as “chemobrain”. How
chemotherapy causes cognitive deficits is not clear at this time,
however, memory and concentration may improve once chemotherapy
is completed. Other factors contributing to memory and
concentration problems include:
- Aging
- Depression
- Menopause
- Low blood counts
- Medications
- Mental and emotion stress of coping with cancer
Currently there are no proven treatments for cognitive deficits
associated with chemotherapy. This can be very frustrating. There
are however things you can do to reduce the impact these problems
have on your daily life.
- Minimize distractions when you need to complete a task that
takes concentration
- Use a daily organizer to help you remember appointments
- Carry a notebook and use it to write down important information
- Get plenty of sleep
- Exercise daily
- Manage stress
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