Sueann Mark

Two days before her 35th birthday, Sueann Mark, PhD, found out that she had breast cancer. Chemotherapy saved her life, but it also took a toll on her mental abilities. She was suffering the effects of “chemobrain,” a condition associated with chemotherapy that results in decreased mental function. “I had the attention span of a 2-year-old,” says Dr Mark. “I couldn’t remember appointments, where I put things and I had trouble finding the right word.” What’s more, Dr Mark says it was having a detrimental effect on her practice. “I talk for a living,” she says, “I’m a clinical sexologist. I have to follow trains of thought.” Soon after, Dr Mark learned that Posit Science was looking for people to participated in a small study on the Brain Fitness Program and chemobrain. Dr Mark leapt at the chance. She says she started to notice changes just a couple of weeks into the training. “My attention span was getting longer. I could read through entire articles that a couple of weeks ago I couldn’t get through. Knowing that I was exercising my mind and reactivating it was really comforting to me.”