DEAR DR. ROACH: I am looking for your opinion regarding the new COVID booster. I am not opposed to vaccinations, as I have had the initial two shots and one booster. About 18 months ago, I was diagnosed with prostate cancer and have since had my prostate removed. My current PSA readings are undetectable, for which I’m grateful. I was also diagnosed with melanoma 12 months ago (along with multiple basil spots). Biopsy results showed that all were successfully removed and were within positive margins, for which I’m also grateful.
I want to get the new COVID booster for obvious reasons, but I’m reading that the boosters are creating cancer recurrence (including prostate cancer and melanoma) in some patients. Clearly, I don’t want either to return, but I also don’t want to get COVID. Can you help with my dilemma and offer a recommendation? — T.I.
ANSWER: I have also read people making that claim, but it isn’t supported by evidence. Both the National Cancer Institute and the American Cancer Society agree that there is no evidence, nor a scientific reason, that suggests COVID-19 vaccinations, whether it was the first one or an additional one, increase the risk of cancer growth. (By the way, if you saw, like I did, the term “turbo cancer,” you can safely disregard the claim, since that isn’t a real entity. That’s fearmongering.)
The COVID vaccine, whether the mRNA or a traditional vaccine like the Novavax, is a very limited exposure of a critical protein in our immune system to help “teach” the immune system to recognize a COVID infection, should it occur. The vaccine provides pretty good protection against infection for a few months and excellent protection against severe infection (including hospitalization and death) for close to a year. Yearly vaccination seems like it might be reasonable, although public health experts have not decided on the long-term COVID vaccination plan.
People with cancer are particularly recommended to get vaccinated, since both cancer and its treatment may affect the immune system and make infections more serious. However, chemotherapy may affect the body’s ability to successfully react to the vaccine, so your oncologist can help you decide the optimal time to get the vaccine if you are undergoing chemo.
DEAR DR. ROACH: You recently wrote about varicoceles and said that they are more common on the left side of the body. Why is that? — A.M.
ANSWER: A varicocele is a dilated vein in the spermatic cord that can sometimes cause symptoms of fullness or discomfort in the scrotum. A varicocele forms just like any other varicose vein, with increased pressure causing damage to the vein or the valves within the vein that are supposed to stop the backward flow of blood.
On the left side, the spermatic vein empties into the renal vein, but does so at a sharp angle that can allow for higher pressure and backward flow of blood. By contrast, the right spermatic vein empties into the inferior vena cava, which is large and has lower pressure.
In fact, when a man has a varicocele only on the right side, it raises concern for a tumor that can compress the inferior vena cava, such as kidney cancer. However, the risk is still quite small — 2.7% in right-sided varicoceles compared to 1.6% in left-sided varicoceles.
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Dr. Roach regrets that he is unable to answer individual letters, but will incorporate them in the column whenever possible. Readers may email questions to ToYourGoodHealth@med.cornell.edu or send mail to 628 Virginia Dr., Orlando, FL 32803.
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