Is "Chemo Brain" a Disability Under the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA)?

People often report debilitating cognitive issues following treatment for cancer.  I wondered, are there legal protections available to them if they can no longer work?

To find out, I spoke with Joanna Morales, an attorney and the former director of the Cancer Legal Resource Center (CLRC), a national, joint program of the Disability Rights Legal Center and Loyola Law School Los Angeles.
The CLRC provides free information and resources on cancer-related legal issues to cancer survivors, caregivers, health care professionals, employers, and others coping with cancer.  I hope you find the information helpful.  -- Originally published in 2010 but worth repeating.

Cancer Itself May Contribute to Brain Fog. Chemo Makes It Worse, Says a Stanford Study

And now we have more evidence that chemo brain is real.

In the latest study published this week in Archives of Neurology, researchers at Stanford University found that women with breast cancer (regardless of whether they had surgery and chemotherapy, or just surgery alone), experienced reduced activity in parts of the brain responsible for working memory, planning and attention.

Making the Cognitive Leap: Exercise is Good for 'Chemo Brain'

By Arash Asher, MD

Director, Cancer Survivorship and Rehabilitation

Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA

Fortunately, the scientific community has come a long way over the last several years in better understanding chemo brain, its causes, and how it can really impact a cancer survivor's life.  Unfortunately, we have much more work to do in learning about effective treatments for this problem.  

Her Employer Let Her Go After Cognitive Problems at Work

By Karen B.

Madison, WI

Guest Blogger

I am 59 years young.  I was diagnosed in July 2008 with stage 3A breast cancer.  I had a lumpectomy followed by a mastectomy because my margins were not clean, had chemo Adriamycin, Cytoxan and Taxol, followed by six weeks of radiation treatment.  I've been on the anti-hormonal drug Arimidex since May 2009.

INFORMATION PROCESSING: How Chemotherapy Changes the Way You Think, Part 3

by

Idelle Davidson

In the introduction of Your Brain After Chemo, I tell the story of one of my friends, "Linda," who was in a support group with me at the Wellness Community.  Earlier in the week she had tried to get to the market only to find herself tangled in frustration.