Short term memory problems after Brain Cancer Treatments can you help?

February 4th, 2008 | Tags: , , , ,
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cancer treatments
YURUBY asked:


TUMOR: anaplastic olligo astrocitoma III…
TREATMENTS: 2 craniotomies, 7 weeks of radiation, and 1 year (oral) chemo.
Now after 3 years of all the treatments, my husband is having a lot of short-term memory issues and cognitive problems…and it looks like is getting worst. Is there anything that he could take to help with these problems? He takes omega 3 but is not helping that much… A friend told me that taking 400 mg Magnesium a day might help… However, I am not sure if that would make the cancer cells to reoccur faster.
Please help!

  1. Dimitar
    February 5th, 2008 at 17:28
    Reply | Quote | #1

    im not sure…………………………..take him to the doctor

  2. ms.Janice M
    February 7th, 2008 at 20:37
    Reply | Quote | #2

    Thiamin which is found in B2 B4 B6 and B12 it is a very good treatment for memory and its also a vitamin and will not hurt at all Good luck and my prayers are with you

  3. Kathy B
    February 10th, 2008 at 14:43
    Reply | Quote | #3

    I have several comments about your husband.

    First, I’m not a doctor. I’m the mother of a 13-year old boy who was diagnosed at the age of 9 with a supratentorial PNET and who has had radiation to his whole brain and spine, followed by 4 stem cell transplants.

    I also have a niece who passed away from an inoperable anaplastic astrocytoma on her brainstem at the age of 4.

    So as a concerned mother I do a lot of reading.

    The first thing is, has your husband had an MRA to look at the blood vessels in his brain? I don’t know where his tumor was, but my personal belief is that most of the cognitive deterioration that kids and others experience after radiation is due to radiation-induced hardening of the arteries and consequently, decreased blood flow to those areas of the brain. If this is the cause, supplements won’t help, however there are surgeries that can improve blood flow to the affected areas.

    Also after radiation, there are white matter changes in many people, and these white matter changes can be indicative of cognitive problems. A functional MRI is usually used to monitor white matter changes.

    So if your husband hasn’t had these tests, I’d ask your doctor about them, maybe get another opinion elsewhere.

    Ruling out the blood vessel changes, in terms of supplements, I’d suggest gingko biloboa if you haven’t already tried that.

    There are also two drug routes you can go, both of these drugs have been demonstrated to help with cognition and fatigue in brain tumor patients. The drugs are methylphenidate (Ritalin/Concerta) and donepezil (Aricept).

    I have always been against what I believe is the over-prescription of stimulants for children with ADD, but post-treatment my son is now taking concerta with measurably positive results, it’s a way to give him a boost in an area where he’s suffering treatment-related deficits.

    Here are a couple of articles about donepezil (Aricept) and methylphenidate (ritalin / Concerta):

    Lastly, I’d like to refer you to an online group that deals specifically with the use of supplements for brain tumors:

    I wish you the best.

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