Confusion??!!! Should I be concerned?

Hi there,

If you look at all my other posts you can see the history of my mother. Real short and sweet...my mother has breast cancer that had spread to her bone and just 6 months ago, we found that it spread to her brain. She is also HER2+. She ended up having full brain radiation which shrunk most tumors and wiped out quite a few more. Anyway...my question. I am very well aware of radiation damaging healthy brain cells and that some side effect will never go away; but should I be concerned when "confusion" is involved? For instance...today we went to a friends house (lots of kids around). After hours of being there, she wanted to know where one particular kid was. It is a kid that we know, but he was never there at all today. When we said that he wasn't there, she persisted that he was and that she even said hi to him when we walked in the door. At first we all laughed about it (including her), but after the laughter was over I saw how her mood changed (and mine). I saw the fear on her face and the worry that something might not be right. She was very quiet for the rest of the day. Is this something to let the doctor know about? She sees him in 3 days. Is this cause for concern?

Thank you.

[Michael Lim, MD]

In general, whole brain radiation can sometimes leave people feeling "off" and episodes of confusion can be a symptom.  However, sometimes new lesions can occur even after radiation and could manifest as confusion.  I would suggest that you bring this up with your doctor when you see him/her.

[annietone]

Thank you