In medicine,<unk>  (also known as<unk> -induced<unk>  dysfunction or, colloquially, as chemo brain or chemo fog) describes the<unk><unk>  that can result from<unk>  treatment. Approximately 20-30% of people who undergo<unk>  experience some level of<unk> . The phenomenon first came to light because of the large number of breast cancer survivors who complained of changes in memory, fluency, and other<unk>  abilities that impeded their ability to function as they had pre-chemotherapy.
Although the causes (and indeed, existence) of<unk>  have been a subject of debate, recent studies have confirmed that<unk>  is a real, measurable side-effect of<unk>  treatment, at least in some patients. A UCLA study published in October 2006 showed that the brains of breast cancer survivors who were treated with<unk>  have to work harder to perform tasks than survivors whose treatment was surgical.   Even more recently, Japanese researchers have demonstrated that a year after treatment, the brains of cancer survivors treated with<unk>  had physically shrunk; those of people not treated with<unk>  had not.<unk>  comes as a surprise to many cancer survivors. Often, survivors think their lives will return to normal when the cancer is gone, only to find that the lingering effects of<unk>  impede their efforts. Working, connecting with loved ones, carrying out day-to-day tasks—all can be very challenging for an impaired brain. Although<unk>  appears to be temporary, it can be quite long-lived, with some cases lasting 10 years or more.
Post-chemotherapy cognitive impairment
Paraneoplastic syndrome
Pituitary apoplexy epidemiology and demographics
Post SSRI sexual dysfunction
Post stroke depression
Autoimmune polyendocrine syndrome pathophysiology
Depression in elderly
Cancer of unknown primary origin pathophysiology