Postherpetic Neuralgia per se is not a life-threatening condotion. But the disseminated infections caused by the Varicella-Zoster virus (chicken pox/shingles virus)such as pneumonia, meningitis, encephalitis can be lethal.
After the initial V-Z virus infection, mostly chicken pox in childhood, some of the viruses survived and resided in the nerve system, probably in the ganglions. When the viruses reactivate, the viruses move along the nerve fibers and cause shingles.
In your father's case, even his skin lesions has already healed, I believe, he still has some V-Z viruses hiding somewhere in his body. When his immune system is further impaired by surgery, radiation and chemotherapy, those silent viruses may probably reactivate and cause infections. It's possible, but nobody can predict the real chance. It all depends on your father's disease, treatment and his general health condition.
Now there are two things you have to consider: your father may need chemotherapy or radiation to control the cancer growth, and meanwhile those treatments may cause serious V-Z virus infections.
Your family should discuss those questions with the doctors in China, since they are the ones who know your father's condition best. If they decide that your father needs chemo or radiation, then he should go ahead to have those treatment, since the benefit of further treatment overweighs the risk of the possible V-Z infections.
About the PHN treatment, Neurontin(Gabapentin) is a prescription drug, but not a controlled substance. You may can buy it from a online pharmacy, and because it's a commonly used drug it should be available in China.
For his pain, I still think the nerve block is the best option, since that is the direct treatment to the nerves which cause the pain and the nerve block has much less systemic side-effect. Generally speaking, those nerve blocks are not difficult to perform, and should be brought up to his doctor's attention.
Best wishes to your father and your famili.
After the initial V-Z virus infection, mostly chicken pox in childhood, some of the viruses survived and resided in the nerve system, probably in the ganglions. When the viruses reactivate, the viruses move along the nerve fibers and cause shingles.
In your father's case, even his skin lesions has already healed, I believe, he still has some V-Z viruses hiding somewhere in his body. When his immune system is further impaired by surgery, radiation and chemotherapy, those silent viruses may probably reactivate and cause infections. It's possible, but nobody can predict the real chance. It all depends on your father's disease, treatment and his general health condition.
Now there are two things you have to consider: your father may need chemotherapy or radiation to control the cancer growth, and meanwhile those treatments may cause serious V-Z virus infections.
Your family should discuss those questions with the doctors in China, since they are the ones who know your father's condition best. If they decide that your father needs chemo or radiation, then he should go ahead to have those treatment, since the benefit of further treatment overweighs the risk of the possible V-Z infections.
About the PHN treatment, Neurontin(Gabapentin) is a prescription drug, but not a controlled substance. You may can buy it from a online pharmacy, and because it's a commonly used drug it should be available in China.
For his pain, I still think the nerve block is the best option, since that is the direct treatment to the nerves which cause the pain and the nerve block has much less systemic side-effect. Generally speaking, those nerve blocks are not difficult to perform, and should be brought up to his doctor's attention.
Best wishes to your father and your famili.
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