Welcome to Dr Mike's Journal

Dear Dr. Mike,
My dad is in remission. However, he was just diagnosed with shingles. His doctor said that can happen to cancer patients going through treatment. What is this?

Well, I'm not a clinical physician, I'm a clinical psychologist. So, to be sure that I answered this medical question correctly, I asked Dr. Michael Wong (y:dr_wong) to respond.

He said "Shingles is a reactivation of the dormant chicken pox virus that your Dad picked up some time earlier in his life. It can reactivate by itself at any time and we're not always sure why, however there are specific times/events that we have found associated with this activation. For example, it can happen as a function of aging, or with immunosuppression. It can also occur during cancer itself or during the treatments of cancer. Shingles is treatable."

I think your interest in understanding your Dad's illness is a positive step in coping with his illness and I will be happy to answer any other questions you might have!

Dr. Mike

Dear Dr. Mike,
I was reading the book "YOU staying young" while reading I came across the chapter on cancer and seen that there is a cancer that is genetic, my question is, how would doctors test for genetic cancer?


Thanks for the question! The simple answer is that doctors can test for some cancers using blood tests. But, we are still learning what to look for and new tests are developed all the time. For a more detailed answer, I have opted to ask for assistance from Ms. Carolyn Farrell, MS, CNP, CGC who is the Director of the Clinical Genetics Service at Roswell Park Cancer Institute to answer this for you.

She told me that all cancer is genetic since there are genetic changes in all tumor tissue.

However, not all cancer is inherited. Inherited risk for cancer, meaning increased susceptibiltiy for certain cancer/s, can be associated with mutations in specific genes (such as breast cancer risk and the BRCA genes).

If a person has an inherited mutation, this was present from the time he or she was conceived and thus is present in all the cells.

Relatives of that person may also have (inherited) that mutation, placing them at increased risk. One way to check for mutations in a specific gene suspected to pose inherited risk is by genetic testing (sequencing the DNA) on a blood specimen, generally first from a person in the family with cancer.

I noticed on the site that there have been several new members coping with the loss of loved ones due to cancer. One person asked specifically about how to deal with the anger and sadness that comes with it because she lost one family member and had another relative diagnosed soon after.

So, I wanted to say upfront, that this is a difficult process... losing someone you love and having that followed by the diagnosis of another family member is particularly difficult. The feelings you describe (anger, sadness, etc.) are not unusual, and are often experienced by people who loose family members.

I think understanding that your feelings are a natural part of adjusting to a loss is a big first step. It’s also important to talk about your feelings with your family and close friends. They can help you and support you when you are feeling down.

As far as supporting a family member who is sick, keep in contact with them; even if they live far away. You can keep in touch by telephone, brief notes, and cards. Sometimes we feel like the letters and notes need to be elaborate and detailed but a quick note telling them you were thinking about them and sending your love will do wonders for you both!

Most importantly, if you find yourself feeling very “out of it” make sure you let your parents know. By “out of it” the kinds of feelings I’m referring to are, for example, long periods of deep sadness, very poor appetite that results in a lot of weight loss in a short period of time, or great difficulty concentrating.

Again, if you start to feel this way let your family member know so they can help. There are also several support groups and other sources of help that are available, please check our website (www.roswellpark.org) or call 1-877-ASK-RPCI.