Q&A: Chemo Brain

“It’s important to not only establish a service to help patients, but to also raise awareness about the condition”

Q What is cancer-related cognitive impairment? A Cancer-related cognitive impairment, or CRCI, is a side effect of cancer and the treatment of the disease, experienced by up to 75 per cent of patients. Symptoms of CRCI vary in severity, but patients find that their attention and memory can be affected, along with the speed at which they can process information. Up to 35 per cent of patients

will have these symptoms in the long term, even after they finish treatment. It can have a major impact on a patient’s quality of life, affecting their ability to work or even carry out everyday tasks at home.

Q What is CRCI caused by? A It’s known by many people as ‘chemo brain’; however, CRCI is not purely linked to chemotherapy. In fact, a variety of treatments

can have an impact on cognitive processes, including radiotherapy, steroids and some medications.

Q Why are you looking into this? A Despite the widespread nature of CRCI, in the UK there is little to no standard of care in a hospital setting. We think it’s really important to not only establish a service to help patients, but to also raise awareness about the condition, so patients know what to expect and what strategies they can use to help manage the symptoms.

Q What have you done at The Royal Marsden? A Last year, thanks to funding from the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust, I completed a fellowship learning about CRCI from international centres and understanding what practices they have in place. Bringing this research back to The Royal Marsden, we have since established a specialist service for any patient who may need us to understand, combat and treat the effects of CRCI. We’ve also been talking to other London trusts to share knowledge and best practice about this undertreated area of cancer care.

Want to know more? To be referred to Occupational Therapy, please ask your medical team. Alternatively, call us on 020 7808 2830 (Chelsea) or 020 7808 3090 (Sutton) to book an appointment or for further information