CHEMO BRAIN: WHAT IS IT & HOW IS IT OVERCOME?

Can chemo make you forget your words?

Yes.

But it’s not just your words.

Chemo can also affect your:

memory
attention span
focus
processing of information

And can cause mental fog, confusion, or disorientation.

If you have experienced this after chemotherapy, you are not alone.

This mental disorientation is called chemo brain.

Around 15%–25% of patients are affected by chemo brain.

“Dealing with chemo brain is so frustrating, I can’t reminder anything! And it sucks because I used to have a sharp mind. I have two PhD’s, and now I feel like that was all for nothing with my brain not functioning well.”

— Breast & Ovarian Cancer Survivor

If this is what you have been experiencing and are tired of suffering from chemo brain, this blog is for you.

And you will learn:

what chemo brain is
Healthy lifestyle tips and tricks to manage chemo brain
And how to potentially reduce it.

Chemo brain: what is it & how do you overcome it? — "Chemo brain" is a term used to describe the memory and thinking changes you are experiencing after cancer.

Understanding Chemo Brain

While only 15%–25% of cancer survivors experience chemo brain, up to 60% can experience it, depending on the chemo and dose.

Chemotherapies at high doses that affect brain function include:

Methotrexate: Used in treating cancers like leukemia and lymphoma.
Doxorubicin (Adriamycin): A common drug for breast, GYN, and blood cancers.
Taxanes (e.g., Paclitaxel, Docetaxel): These are used for various cancers, including breast and ovarian cancer.
Cisplatin: A strong chemotherapy used for many cancer types. This can also affect your hearing and balance.

The exact cause of chemo brain is not fully understood, but this could be due to:

Increased inflammation and/or oxidative stress in the brain.
The presence of cancer in the brain.
The effect cancer has on your mental well-being.
The combination of all the above.

“I used to pride myself on my quick thinking and sharp memory, but now I forget everything. I can’t even find my words to speak. If I don’t write something down, I forget it. This is just so frustrating to live with.”

— Ovarian Cancer Survivor

Because the true cause of chemobrain is unknown, there is not much your oncologist can do to help.

Heathy living For a healthy brain: how to manage chemo brain

Like cancer fatigue, neuropathy, or lymphedema, there are no medications to cure chemo brain.

Chemotherapy = complex drug that affects your whole body, bringing you many side effects.

However, the only “pill” you can currently take that targets every aspect of your body without any side effects is exercise.

But while exercise is important, you need a healthy lifestyle to help support you through exercise.

Exercising with chemo brain is not easy, and thus a healthy lifestyle must be adopted to:

1) Help support you through exercise

2) Help maintain a healthy brain

3) Reduce risk of a second cancer

Here are some lifestyle changes you can make to manage chemo brain and maintain a healthy brain:

Prioritize Sleep: Sleep restores brain cells and increases memory retention, focus, and attention span.
Nutrition: Eating a diet rich in whole grains, antioxidants, and omega-3 fatty acids may help support brain health and function. Consult with your cancer dietician to learn more.
Mental Health Practices: Meditation, therapy, counseling, deep breathing, journaling, and yoga can help reduce the mental stressors caused by cancer, which can contribute to chemobrain.
Staying Active: Exercise has been shown to improve mental well-being and function. Sitting less and moving more can help maintain a healthy brain.

No one aspect of health will “cure” chemo brain, but the combination of following a healthy lifestyle with exercise can help manage or reduce chemo brain.

The Science Behind Exercise and Cognitive Function

Exercise affects every aspect of your well-being and fight against cancer.

It helps:

Reduce risk of heart disease
Decrease risk of diabetes
Manage chemo fatigue
Lower cancer treatment side effects
Increase your cancer-fighting immunity

Exercise is so powerful that many hospitals and cancer centers incorporate it into their care plan.

Exercise is the only form of holistic care that affects your overall well-being—including your brain.

Your brain is an organ made up of cells, and your cells require oxygen, nutrients (carbs), water, and a way to remove waste to maintain healthy cellular (brain) function—all of which your blood is responsible for.

Your brain, however, also functions according to the signals it gets from the rest of your body (including your muscles — this is called muscle-brain crosstalk).

For example, when you exercise and your muscles contract, your muscles secrete different types of myokines (a type of protein), which help to protect your brain cells, decrease inflammation, and regulate energy use in the brain.

So here is how exercise helps with chemo brain:

Increased Blood Flow to the Brain: As you exercise, your heart becomes stronger and pumps more blood to your brain. Increased blood flow to the brain means more oxygen and nutrients reach your brain to maintain healthy brain cells. As your brain gets the oxygen and nutrients it needs, it functions better. Blood is what provides the nutrients your brain cells need to function, without adequate blood flow, cells do not have the support they need to properly function.
Brain Cell Growth: Exercise boosts a protein called BDNF (Brain-derived neurotrophic factor), which helps brain development, function, and growth of healthy brain cells. Exercise increases BDNF levels in the brain, which may enhance mental abilities and act against anxiety and depression.
Increased Myokins: Different forms of exercise secrete different types and amounts of myokins. Each myokine has different effects on the body and can help protect your brain cells, decrease inflammation, and regulate energy. Chemo can make your body inflamed, but it can also cause inflammation in the brain. This inflammatory effect can lead to mental fog. As you exercise, your body increases antioxidants to help reduce inflammation.
Stress Relief: Exercise is the only medicine that can improve your mental well-being, inflammation, and overall health. Exercise is not only physical, it also helps reduce stress and anxiety, which can lead to clearer thinking, more creativity, and better executive function.
Better Sleep Quality: It is no surprise that cancer treatment affects your sleep. Lack of sleep, constant sleep disturbances, and poor sleep quality all increase mental and emotional fatigue which can add to your chemo brain, making it harder to remember, think, and focus. Regular physical activity also helps improve your sleep quality and thus helps you reduce the effects of chemo brain.
Increased Energy Levels: Fatigue is a common symptom of chemo brain. Regular exercise can boost your energy levels and reduce chemo fatigue. The mental fog you feel is also physical and chemo fatigue can also increase chemo brain. Therefore, maintaining a healthy exercise routine can help you feel less overwhelmed, fatigued, and more mentally alert.

Because exercise is “wholistic” (meaning it incorporates every aspect of your body), you don’t need one exercise routine for you heart, another one for you brain, and another one for your lungs.

One workout routine could help you in all aspects of your health.

Practical Tips for Incorporating Exercise

As a cancer survivor, the research shows that just

150 minutes of cardio a week
Minimum of 2 days of strength training

Helps manage side effects and prevent recurrence

Because different forms of exercise increase myokin release differently, you need both cardio and weight training to improve your brain.

For cardio focus on:

A repetitive activity you can sustain for 20-60 minutes. This could be swimming, dancing, jogging, or walking.
This should be done at a minimum 3 days a week
Maintain a moderate intensity ( where you can hold a conversation but still need to catch your breath every 12-15 words).
The goal is to reach 150 minutes a week.

For strength and weight lifting

Do 2-4 sets for 6-15 reps at least 2x a week.
You want to work out each body part a minimum of 2x max or at a minimum once a week.
Take no less than 1 minute rest between sets; if needed, shoot for 2-3 minutes of rest.
Have 1-2 exercises that target multiple muscle groups (like the squat, hip hinge, or chest press) and 2-3 exercises that specifically target the muscles you want to strengthen (like a soleus raise, bicep curl, etc).

When exercising, however, make sure to:

Set Realistic Goals: Set small, achievable goals, like a 10-minute walk each day or a few minutes of stretching.
Meet with your cancer exercise specialist: Your cancer exercise specialist will be able to design an exercise program according to your body type, cancer, and side effects you are experiencing from chemo brain.
Listen to Your Body: Pay attention to how you feel during exercise. If something hurts, adjust your routine or talk to a specialist. Consult your doctor if needed.
Be Consistent: Try to exercise regularly. Aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate cardio each week and do strength training twice a week.

Last tip on treating chemo brain

Seek support and professional help from a cancer exercise specialist.

If you’re struggling to keep up with life because of chemo brain, don’t hesitate to reach out.

Together, we can develop a plan to address the challenges you face and navigate your recovery with confidence.

You don’t have to do this alone.

If you are tired of

having trouble focusing
feeling mental fog
having trouble finding words

And you are ready to start feeling confident in your own body again, feeling more energized, and experiencing a clear-head again, click below to start your 1:1 coaching today.

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