“Chemo-Brain Blues”“Chemo-Brain Blues” first started out as “Menopause Metaphors.” Originally, I was trying to make light of that life-stage rite of passage. (Sometimes, it’s best just to laugh!) And then, after breast cancer surgery 10 years later, after the hot flashes had long since ceased, the drugs I was taking after surgery produced the same cognitive and physical symptoms and challenges. So, the song evolved to lighten up a new life journey.

 

I must acknowledge that some of the metaphors and similes (no, they’re not all metaphors) in the original song were contributed by a dear, departed friend, who also had cancer, who was known for his “irrepressible sense of humor.” The video was made for the Massachusetts Department of Public Health’s Cancer Prevention and Control Network’s “Wellness Guide for Cancer Survivors,” an online version of which can be accessed at www.mass.gov/cancersurvivor.