Shingles and Cancer
Hi All, I was hoping I would get some advise or if anyone was in a similar situation. My mum has stage 4 lung, liver and bone cancer the diagnosis is terminal. The last few weeks mum had a very sever sore right hand and there were 2 patches purple in color on her palm. We went to our GP who put mum on antibiotics and said it was a infection, her nail was also very dark brown in color we put this down to minor infection from the sugar test been taken. On Saturday her hand was very sore I brought mum to West doc and its shingles :(:( the infection is gone past viral infection and she was increased her dose of lyrca to help with the pain. Is shingles common with cancer has anyone been in a similar position. I have rang the corrib ward in UHG for an update as mum is due her cycle of chemo this week and its highly likely this will be postponed now. regards, Vivinne
Hi Viv1988,
Thank you for your post. I am sorry to hear your mum has had such a difficult time of late. When someone is having their treatment for cancer, their immune system is very vulnerable to infections. Unfortuntely, this means infections like shingles can often happen. It is really important that your mum's hospital team treating her know she has shingles. Often treatment will be postponed until she has recovered. It is important to allow her to recover before her next chemo to avoid her becoming very unwell. Please call us on the nurseline on 1800 200 700 (Monday to Friday 0900-1700) for more information.
Best wishes,
Cancer Nurse