Brain cancer and associated treatments are taxing to the emotions and cognitive function. Brain cancer can pose challenges to functioning in various areas of life, such as the workplace, or in dealing with family problems. Worse, some of the symptoms of brain cancer may be so subtle that they go unrecognized, while hindering the performance of the surviving individual.
Work Function
Survivors of brain cancer often adapt to the symptoms of brain cancer. Yet, impairments in work-related functioning may go unrecognized, according to Michael Feuerstein and colleagues in a July 2007 article in the "Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine." After surviving an average of 3.8 years past diagnosis, brain cancer survivors reported greater work limitations, as found by Feuerstein and associates. The researchers found that survivors of cancer with malignant tumors needed more time off from work than their non-cancer counterparts. They had higher levels of symptom burden, which translates to stress. These survivors were also found to have poorer health behaviors and to use negative problem solving strategies. Therefore, strategies to accommodate cancer survivor cognitive deficiencies should exist within the workplace policy. Factors such as sleep, feeling depressed, having limited mental capabilities, feeling fatigued, not having enough sleep, and negative problem solving strategies have been shown to be contributors to work-related limitations, as cited by the authors.
Brain Function
Brain cancer is known to produce changes in motor and neurocognitive ability. Specifically, working memory, executive function and motor function are three areas that are affected after brain cancer, according to Feuerstein and associates. Working memory refers to the type of memory to hold digits, words, names or other items into memory for a short time period, according to Bryan Kolb and Ian Whishaw in the 2003 book "The Fundamentals of Human Neuropsychology." The ability to shift attention between different events and objects is fundamental to functioning in the environment in order to filter out irrelevant items and to shift attention to what is more important at the moment. These are all executive functions, according to Kolb and Whishaw, and are often negatively impacted in the brains of cancer survivors. Motor control refers to the control over movement-related functions. However, some of these outcomes are seen in cases of many types of cancers, not just in ones that are brain-related, as the researchers note.
Changes in Emotion
Brain cancer survivors are likely to have changes in emotion, such as feelings of depression and anxiety. What differs about brain cancer patients compared to other types of cancer patients is that they are more likely to receive treatment 18 months after diagnosis, according to Feuerstein and colleagues. The patients who received further threatment reported that emotional and family-related issues were their biggest concerns. It is these types of experiences that are sources of stress to brain cancer survivors, as the researchers note.
References
- "Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine"; Work Productivity in Brain Tumor Survivors; Michael Feuerstein et al.; July 2007
- "Fundamentals of Human Neuropsychology"; Bryan Kolb & Ian Q. Whishaw; 2003
