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Those of us who were severely abused as children are at highest risk for developing all the major illnesses that afflict adults, including cancer.
Because our early brain development was at extremely high risk of being interfered with, I know from personal experience that chemotherapy is especially hazardous to our fragile brain construction! Now this from The New York Times.
It makes perfect sense to me, although they don’t mention it in this article, that chemotherapy designed to stop all rapid cell division in the body would of COURSE affect our memory. The two brain areas identified as being the only ones known to grow new brain cells, the olfactory center (for the sense of smell so we can add new smells to our brain’s database) and the hippocampus, the part of the brain that processes incoming new memories.
If chemotherapy stops new cell division, it no doubt can (and does) affect the hippocampus. What I know for myself is that all the ongoing work I put into making sense of the world and of finding my way around IN SPITE of the developmental changes my brain experienced due to chronic, severe early and long term child abuse were interfered with by chemotherapy. I actually FORGOT all the intricate ways I developed to ‘hide’ my ‘dis-abilities’.
I mention this because those of us with extreme child abuse histories have a right to be heard, listened to, and respected when we tell ANY professional what we are experiencing. I believe that if researchers knew to ask the right questions, they would find extreme child abuse survivors among the 15% this article mentions that have long term if not permanent brain alterations as a result of chemotherapy and other related cancer treatments.
Take a look at this article!
Stop the Storm 