shingles vaccine

[Rob]

Does anyone have information about the safety of the shingles vaccine in Tykerb/Xyloda users?

[Unregistered]

bumping this up for Rob.

[Barbara2]

I guess I'd ask you onc, then you'd know for sure. And you are asking about 2 drugs in particular, so, again, I'd ask...

If my memory is correct, I believe it is not recommended to get the shingles vaccine during the time that you are receiving chemo, but it is OK after chemo and if you are over 60 years of age.

[Ceesun]

My husband is 61 and got the vaccine about a month ago, I am currently on tykerb-herceptin. When I mentioned my husband to my onc., he said "don't you get the vaccine."

[Rob]

Thanks for the reply. Info is for my daughter-in-law.

[Lani]

from what I understand it is not advisable in those without normal immune function.

Anyone who has had chemotherapy, radiation therapy in the past as well as her2+ breast cancer itself affects the immune system, might I suppose be considered immunologically compromised.

They have not done a lot of studies on how chemotherapy,radiation therapy long and shortterm,and breast cancer itself affect the immune system longterm--when I asked why, they explained that they do not yet understand the immune system in "normal people" yet so don't know how they would interpret/find differences. I haven't seen studies on how tykerb might affect the immune system

Hope this helps

[Barbara2]

I will be turning 60 in September, and at my visit with onc 2 weeks ago, he said yes to getting the shingles vaccine in Sept, but my last chemo treatment was in 2003, and the last herceptin treatment 2005.

Info I found from WebMD:
Up to one in ten older patients won't be candidates for the vaccine because of weakened immune systems due to cancer therapy, organ transplants, HIV/AIDS, or other causes. The vaccine contains live but weakened varicella virus that could overwhelm the immune systems of those patients.\

Anything I have read, indicates that anyone with a weakened immune system, for whatever reason, should not get the vaccine.

[Jackie07]

Vaccines are designed to use weakend (or 'dead') virus to stimulate our own immune system so it can build up antibodies which can defend us against the virus in case we are under attack.

When we have a weakened immune system (most chemo/immuno therapies lower our white/red blood cell counts)we are at risk of not being able to build up the defense as was expected but instead actually getting infected by the weakened virus.

I believe 60 is the recommended age to get Shingle's vaccine.

[Barbara2]

My husband is turning 60 and does not recall having had chicken pox as a child, so we questioned whether or not he sould have the shingles vaccine. I Googled the topic...this answers "who should, who should not, who should wait." Good information.

http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/vis/downloads/vis-shingles.pdf


http://www.nfid.org/pdf/factsheets/varicellaadult.pdf