Shingles is a painful red rash on the skin that is accompanied by blisters. The condition, which tends to strike much older patients, is a result of the re-activation of the virus varicella, the same virus that causes the chicken pox.
In fact, when we are exposed to the varicella virus at a young age, that virus—like all viruses—never leaves the body. It just goes dormant. And it stays dormant until the body's immune system becomes compromised, which allows the virus to re-activate itself. The result is shingles.
In short, if a person has ever had the chicken pox, they can develop shingles. According to some estimates, one in three people will develop shingles in their lifetime.
Longterm Health Complications
Shingles can lead to long-term health complications. These include:
- Extended chronic pain (postherpetic neuralgia or PHN)
- Scarring that is permanent
- Vision problems
- Ramsay Hunt Syndrome
- Opportunistic bacterial infections
Shingles and Cancer
Older persons who have cancer—specifically people who have so-called blood cancers, including leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma—are at a higher risk of developing shingles than the same age population that doesn't have cancer.
The combination chemotherapy regimens, as well as the development of immunotherapeutics to treat certain subtypes of lymphoma, along with the enormous ordeals of undergoing stem cell transplantation—which effectively wipes out the body's immune system for a short time—all contribute to this population's risk for the reactivation of the varicella virus and the development of shingles. Without the strenght oftheir immune systems, they become vulnerable to the virus.
In sum, shingles is a greater concern with regard to cancer because the rashes are likely to remain longer and be harder to treat. Furthermore, and more importantly, developing shingles can often lead to a disruption in cancer treatment. Chemotherapy or radiation regimens are often halted so that the shingles can be treated, which can compromise the cancer care as well as the outcome of the cancer care. Finally, for cancer patients who develop shingles, determining whether or not to receive a yearly flu vaccination can be a difficult question, and either a yes or a no decision has the potential to put the patient at severe risk of becoming sick and possibly succumbing to the infection.
While there is a vaccine on the market for shingles, it is not given to elderly patients who are underoing anti-cancer treatment because of their weakened immune systems, a problem that could lead to other problems,
For more information on shingles, visit the CDC's information page (opens as a PDF).
