Saturday, February 16, 2008

Chemo brain

We're OK. Today was good, yesterday less so. Our days are very quiet. We try to get out for an hour or so every day, although it is taxing for Jimmy, but we feel the need to push him to exert himself. Nausea is still an intermittent annoyance, as is his lack of appetite and energy.

One of the more subtle side effects of chemotherapy is "chemo brain", a form of cognitive dysfunction, manifested in slight memory lapses and difficulty concentrating. The most noticible evidence of this in Jimmy has been that since he took the first dose of Melphalan, he has not read one book; I daresay not one page. He has always had at least one book on tap, and in the last year was often reading a book a day. He's improving rapidly, and in a few months will be completely back to normal, but is nevertheless frustrated that it isn't happening overnight.

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