Discussion » Questions » Science and Technology » Many things can affect memory, chemo therapy being one of them. Does Chemo kill the memory completely or make it inaccessible?

Many things can affect memory, chemo therapy being one of them. Does Chemo kill the memory completely or make it inaccessible?

Posted - October 15, 2016

Responses


  • 5808
    I have no idea Rosie.
    But God bLess you for what you have endured and gone through
    with your health, and i am so thankful you have made it through all of that.
    So maybe you would be a better person to answer that?
    ...I know that if were faced with Chemo etc I would not go through it.
    With no family and no support group around me,
    if i got through it.. I would be homeless because I would not be able to pay rent unless I am working.
    ...So I admire and respect your courage in this and wish you 
    many many years of good health in your life.
      October 15, 2016 11:01 AM MDT
    1

  • 113301
    ((hugs)) Your answer hurts my heart Baba. Honestly it does. You have no family or support group?  I would not be here without Jim. There is no question about it. I suppose it is possible to get through chemo on your own but I think it would require having a lot of money. Fortunately it happened to me at age 70 so I was already retired. The cancer protocol that was chosen for me was very aggressive and I would not have been able to work during that time. I was on Medicare. Without that we would have been wiped out financially. Having Medicare and Jim saved my life. You know Baba life is so precious. I know you know that.  I visualized that I would get through it. I never doubted that for an instant.  I was given a 15% chance of surviving 5 years and it's been over  8 years since my last chemo session (October 2008 but who remembers?)  I know the circumstances of your early life because you shared that with  me on another thread some weeks ago. I don't know the circumstances of your life today but you are so spiritual and thoughtful and poetic and  calm that I always saw you as being surrounded by lots of friends/family. I have admired you a lot through the years we've known each other even through some of the times when we were at odds...so to speak.  Thank you for the kind words. I appreciate it. But actually I breezed through it!  Some people had a terrible time and lost weight and threw up all the time and their veins collapsed from the chemo. I only threw up once the first day of chemo and after that I just took anti-nausea pills. I only had one vein collapse. After the surgery I did lose weight because I had no appetite for a few weeks but my appetite came back. I had no other  physical ailments so when I was given chemo they "threw the book at me". It was VERY strong stuff but I didn't have heart problems or diabetes or any other medical condition that required meds or special treatment that would interfere with the chemo protocol. So if it had to happen to me it couldn't have been at a better time. I'm definitely one of the lucky ones and I will always be very grateful that I'm still here. Where does your calm come from Baba? Do you ever get really angry or upset? You strike me as being very well balanced and maybe even stoic (which I think is a very good thing). I can't imagine your being  upended by anything. Happy Sunday my friend!  :)
      October 16, 2016 3:19 AM MDT
    1

  • 1615
    Gee I forgot .
      October 15, 2016 1:11 PM MDT
    1

  • 22891
    never heard of that happening with chemo
      October 15, 2016 8:46 PM MDT
    2

  • 113301
    It happened to me pearl so now you HAVE heard of it. Further all cancer patients are advised that memory loss usually occurs though not always. And it occurs to varying degrees. Sometimes it can be temporary but more often it is permanent. How many people do you personally know that underwent 6 months of chemotherapy? Thank you for your reply.
      October 16, 2016 2:59 AM MDT
    1