Hormone therapy is a cancer treatment that slows or stops the growth of cancers that grow by secreting hormones. It is also known as hormone treatment, endocrine therapy, or hormonal therapy.
How Hormone Therapy Can Help You Fight Cancer
Hormone treatment is used to treat the following conditions:
- To treat cancer. It can reduce the chances of cancer returning, as well as stop or delay its progression.
- Reduce the severity of cancer symptoms. It may be used to relieve or prevent symptoms in men who are unable to undergo surgery or radiation therapy for prostate cancer.
Hormone Therapy Types
It is divided into two types: those that prevent the body from producing hormones and those that interfere with how hormones operate in the body.
Who Gets Hormone Treatment?
Prostate and breast cancers that utilise hormones to proliferate are treated with hormone therapy. Hormone therapy is routinely combined with other cancer treatments. Treatment options vary depending on the type of cancer, if it has spread and how far it has spread, whether it requires hormones to develop, and whether you have any other health issues.
Hormone Therapy in Combination with Other Cancer Therapies
When combined with other treatments, can:
- Before undergoing surgery or radiation therapy, a tumour should be reduced in size. Neo-adjuvant therapy is the term for this type of treatment.
- Reduce the chances of cancer reappearing after the primary treatment. (Adjuvant therapy)
- Cancer cells that have spread to other parts of your body should be removed.
Hormone Therapy Can Have Negative Consequences
Hormone therapy may create unpleasant side effects by inhibiting your body’s ability to produce hormones or interfering with how hormones function.
Because people react differently to the same treatment, not everyone has the same side effects.
The following are some of the most common side effects experienced by men receiving hormone therapy for prostate cancer:
- Flashes of heat
- Loss of interest in or ability to engage in sexual activity
- Bones that have weakened
- Diarrhea
- Nausea
- Breasts that are enlarged and painful
- Fatigue
Side effects experienced by women receiving hormone therapy for breast cancer:
- Flashes of heat
- Dryness of the vaginal canal
- If you haven’t reached menopause yet, changes in your periods
- Loss of interest in sex
- Nausea
- Mood swings
- Fatigue
How Much Does Hormone Treatment Cost?
Hormone therapy costs are determined by the following factors:
- What kinds of hormone therapy do you get?
- How long and how frequently do you get hormone therapy?
- Where do you live ?
How Is Hormone Therapy Administered?
It can be given in a number of different ways. Among the most common methods are:
- Oral :Hormone therapy is administered through pills that are swallowed.
- Injection : Hormone treatment is administered through a shot into a muscle in your arm, thigh, or hip, or directly under the skin in the fatty area of your arm, leg, or stomach.
- Surgery : To remove hormone-producing organs. The ovaries are removed from women. The testicles are removed from men.
Where Do You Get Hormone Therapy?
The type of hormone therapy you receive and how it is administered determine where you will receive treatment. Hormone therapy can be done at home. Hormone therapy can also be administered in a doctor’s office, clinic, or hospital.
The Effects of Hormone Therapy on You
Hormone therapy has a variety of effects on people. The type of cancer you have, how advanced it is, the type of hormone therapy you are receiving, and the dose all influence how you feel. Your doctors and nurses have no way of knowing how you will react to hormone therapy.
How to Determine Whether Hormone Therapy Is Effective
PSA tests will be performed on a regular basis if you are on hormone therapy for prostate cancer. Your PSA readings will stay the same or even decrease if hormone therapy is successful. However, if your PSA levels rise, it could indicate that the treatment is no longer effective. If this occurs, your doctor will talk to you about treatment choices.
You’ll have regular checkups if you’re on hormone therapy for breast cancer. The neck, underarm, chest, and breast areas are all examined during a checkup. You’ll get regular mammograms, albeit a mammography of a reconstructed breast is unlikely. Other imaging treatments or lab tests may be ordered by your doctor.
Dietary Requirements
Prostate cancer hormone therapy can lead to weight gain. If you’re having trouble losing weight, talk to your doctor, nurse, or nutritionist.
While undergoing hormone therapy, you should be able to work.
