Chemo Brain After Breast Cancer:
Why It Is Hard to Concentrate and What Your Body Is Telling You

You are in the middle of a sentence and the word suddenly disappears. You walk into a room and cannot remember why. You read the same paragraph for the third time and it still will not go in, and you ask yourself quietly, almost with shame: "What is happening to me?"

You are not alone, and you are certainly not "falling apart". This feeling has a name: chemo brain. The full medical term is Chemotherapy-related cognitive impairment, or CRCI for short - cognitive impairment related to chemotherapy treatment, and it is a very common phenomenon among women who have had chemotherapy. In conversations with hundreds of patients over the years, I have almost never met a woman who did not know it intimately.

What is chemo brain, really?

Chemo brain is the name given to difficulties with concentration, memory and clear thinking that accompany many women during treatment and afterwards, sometimes for months and sometimes longer. It can show up as difficulty finding words, forgetting small things, or a feeling that your head is "thick" or wrapped in a thin fog.

Recent clinical studies from 2026 (Ng et al., 2026) and (Mao et al., 2026) examined the effect of acupuncture on cognitive difficulties after breast cancer. They found that acupuncture improved women's own sense of their concentration and memory more than usual care, and that real acupuncture also improved objective measures of cognitive function. This is evidence that the phenomenon is being studied seriously and scientifically, and that there are real ways to support it.

Your body is not "broken" - it is running protective mechanisms

I want you to understand this: this fog is not a sign that something has gone wrong in you. The treatments - chemotherapy, radiation, biological, hormonal - demand enormous resources from the body and the brain. Again and again I see the same pattern: the brain, like any intelligent system, directs resources to where they are most needed at a given moment - survival, healing, internal balance. Mental clarity, temporarily, simply drops down the list of priorities.

In that sense the fog is not an enemy to fight, but a gentle signal from your body: "Slow down. Give me space to reorganise."

What actually helps?

There is no single miracle solution, but there are several directions supported both by research and by clinical experience:

Gentle, regular movement - moderate physical activity, even a short daily walk, has been found to contribute to cognitive function and quality of life among breast cancer survivors.

Sleep as medicine, not luxury - the brain reorganises and clears itself in deep sleep. Keeping a sleep routine, even an imperfect one, supports mental clarity.

Small external backup - lists, reminders, a short journal. Not because you "need to try harder", but to give your brain an external anchor that reduces the internal load.

Working with the breath and the energetic system - conscious breathing practice, and the energetic cleansing developed by Dr. Nader Butto, the technique I use in the clinic, allow a gentle release of blocked energy centres around the head and neck. This can support the nervous system and make room for clarity, relief and release.

Acupuncture - as the research I mentioned suggests, this is a complementary tool worth considering alongside your medical treatment, in consultation with your treating team.

Patience is part of healing

This fog tends to clear with time, for most women. But the process is not linear - there are clear days and there are cloudier ones, and that is completely normal. There is nothing to prove to anyone, and certainly not to yourself. You are not "less sharp" or "less capable" - you are inside a healing process that takes the time it takes.

A framework, not a substitute

Everything written here is an invitation to emotional, mental and energetic support alongside your medical follow-up, never in its place. If concentration or memory difficulties worry you or significantly affect your daily functioning, it is important to share this with your treating medical team so it can be looked into properly.

Your mind will clear, at its own pace, and my recommendation is to give it that time, without judgement, disappointment or frustration.

And if you would like support on your road to healing - I am here.

With love, Tali

Sources

Ng, D. Q., Heshmatipour, M., Trudeau, J., Sridhar, A., Pluimer, B., Drayson, O. G. G., Lavasani, S. M., Parajuli, R., Lee, S., Agrawal, A., Acharya, M. M., Limoli, C. L., Harris, R. E., Xie, L., Malik, S., & Chan, A. (2026). Electroacupuncture improves cognitive function and neuropsychiatric symptoms in breast cancer survivors: A pilot randomized controlled trial. JNCI: Journal of the National Cancer Institute, djag096. doi:10.1093/jnci/djag096

Mao, J., Li, X., Li, Y., Liou, K., Lampson, K., Root, J., & Ahles, T. (2026). Abstract GS3-04: Effects of acupuncture vs sham acupuncture and usual care on cancer-related cognitive difficulties among breast cancer survivors: The ENHANCE randomized clinical trial. Clinical Cancer Research, 32(4 Suppl.), GS3-04. doi:10.1158/1557-3265.SABCS25-GS3-04