Expert: Claes-Gustaf Nordquist, M.D. - 8/19/2009

Question
I was diagnosed with breast cancer (stage 3A) at age 49 and had a double mastectomy 5/21/08 followed by 6 rounds every 3 weeks of A-C-5FU chemo drugs from 7/14/08-11/4/08. I had trouble right away with what I now consider "chemo fog". My MD tried changing the anti-emetic cocktail to see if it would improve. My 5th and 6th rounds were particularly brutal with side effects. I ended up on home IV fluids for dehydration a month after my last round of chemo. Then gradually the "fog" turned into more. What I now term "chemo brain". Can not concentrate, get overstimulated easily, poor short term memory, difficulty finding words I want to use and difficulty expressing what I am trying to say, no concept of time and can not multi task - I can only do one thing at a time and that one thing takes me at least twice as long as it did before. I still have other residual side effects that are tolerable such as dry mouth, poor sense of smell, constipation. Has anyone else had this this far past the completion of chemo? Any ideas? I am not even safe to drive in my neighborhood (3-5 miles) most days and never a long distance (10+ miles) driving trip. I am curious why it got worse and is clearing up so slow after the chemo has been completed. I don't know day to day or even hr to hr how bad it's going to be. I do see improvement overall when I look back to how it was in 1/09. But this is very frustrating. I want to return to work and be able to drive myself around again. Just curious as to others experiences.

I have asked the same question here also but not very satisfied
http://www.caring.com/cancer

Answer
There are vast differences from patient to patient with regards to how severe side effects of chemotherapy are.To some it is nothing. To some it is a hell worse than death and to most it is somewhere in between those 2 extremes. In general though side effects today are less severe than they were when I started in this field around 40 years ago. Some side effects are just curiosities like when hair regrow in a different new color or of a different new kind (curly or not curly). To those where the side effects are severe the treatment - though necessary - is a very tough physical as well as physiological & psychological trauma with often long time consequences. I'm sorry that you find yourself in that category! Hopefully those effects will pass with time as they usually do. But exactly how long that will take in your case is anybody's guess.