December 5, 2009
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Cancer brain is a proven anomaly
John woke up early this morning and found a show on PBS that was talking about brain health and one of the modules discussed cancer brain. Cancer brain is different from chemo brain. I've heard of chemo brain since I had cancer 8 years ago, but since I didn't take chemo, the term chemo brain didn't fit.
Chemotherapy destroys cells throughout the body, including brain cells. This results in "chemo brain" because brain cells are destroys and the neurons no longer fire correctly.
"Cancer brain," on the other hand, results from a protein sent into the body by the cancer in it's preparation to spread through the body. The proteins destroy a coating on the neurons, causing them to misfire and therefore leaving us cancer survivors with memory losses. It's frustrating to know that you know something but cannot recall it.
The good news is, you can reroute the neurons by learning new things, so I need to make the time to study new things.
Comments (2)
I never thought about it, but it does make perfect sense ~ now I am going to take this preggo brain and go get breakfast..........
Hey Deb.. I use fb -- look up Karyn Weltzin Taylor and let's keep in touch. *Hugs*
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