What Homework?

Hello, my name is… something… I would like to blame my brain. Wait, I would like to blame what the chemo did to my brain.

There is a common occurrence that comes from chemo that is normally referred to as chemo brain. Chemo brain is something that technically could be compared to things like ‘senior moments’ and ‘brain farts’. Chemo brain describes changes in concentration, memory, attention, and normal various day to day mental tasks. Chemo brain comes from the after effects of chemotherapy, now is where it should click why it is titled what it is. Chemo brain is so infuriating that one must find ways to use it to their benefit to cancel out the negatives that it causes. So let us take a look at one of the negatives and one of the positives:

Negatives include the name of that person that you met at that place with the thing for the event benefitting that cause. You were supposed to find the object for the night of the week of some month coming up.

Positives include things like commercials that feel like home. Do we not all remember Jennifer Love Hewitt taking an egg to symbolize the brain and then smashing it with her frying pan to symbolize the brain on drugs? Well the original take just had her slightly cracking the egg somewhat ever so gently and then shaking it profusely so that it didn’t know what level of the food pyramid it belonged to. The tag line would read this is your brain on chemo. But…. when Jennifer broke the only egg they had left because of her strong man hands, they decided to open the tag to include all drugs for dramatic egg smashing effect. New stance, this is your brain on drugs.

Now, these negatives and positives just give a little clue on the boundaries around chemo brain. But, more or less this is just to touch upon a common occurrence that never seems to be recognized. Sometimes, I am just not home, the light is not on, and the windows are closed. My brain stops for a second, but if given time and proper care it picks right back up. I apologize for forgetting to do my homework, for forgetting you name, for forgetting to care that you have a horrible splinter and I didn’t send a sympathy card. I apologize for forgetting the heading on my paper, for forgetting to finish my……….something.