Stress, rather than chemotherapy, is responsible for decreased verbal fluency or loss of memory and attention for women with breast cancer.
New research has shown that women who have undergone only surgery for breast cancer experience similar cognitive deficits to women who have undertaken hormone replacement therapy or chemotherapy.
In the study by the University of Missouri, women who reported higher stress levels scored lower in memory and attention tests. Researchers believe that passive coping strategies such as denial or disengagement contribute to the cognitive decline.
Read more at University of Missouri