Download Hormone Therapy and Prostate Cancer

University of Minnesota Physicians is Fairview’s partner in specialty care
Hormone Therapy and Prostate Cancer
What is hormone therapy?
Side effects can include:
A hormone is a chemical made in one part of the
body to act on cells in another part. Your body
makes several types of hormones. One is called
testosterone (tess-TAHS-ter-ohn).
• Tiredness or weakness
Testosterone acts like food for prostate cancer. By
stopping your body’s ability to make testosterone,
we can often slow the growth of prostate cancer
and reduce the symptoms of advanced cancer.
This is called hormone therapy, and it is done with
medicines or surgery.
• Weight gain
How do the surgery and medicines work?
• Hot flashes
• Loss of muscle
• Loss of interest in sex
• Smooth skin
• Thinning hair
• Bone loss (osteoporosis)
Because testosterone is made mainly in the testicles,
removing the testicles will usually cause testosterone
levels to drop very low. This surgery is called an
orchiectomy (ohr-kee-ECK-toh-mee).
Recent research suggests that hormone therapy
may increase the risk of getting diabetes and heart
disease. It may also make diabetes worse in those
who already have it.
There are both shots and pills for stopping
testosterone. The shots stop the testicles from
making testosterone. The pills keep other glands in
the body from trying to make up the difference.
Some people say they suffer from loss of short-term
memory, but this has not been proven.
Are there any side effects to hormone therapy?
The side effects of hormone therapy have been
compared to a woman going through menopause.
Not all men suffer all the side effects, and not all of
them are permanent.
For informational purposes only. Not to replace the advice of your health care provider.
Copyright © 2008 Fairview Health Services. All rights reserved. SMARTworks 520645 – 02/08.
What can I do about side effects?
• Get as much exercise as you can. Men who
exercise even a little have more energy over time.
Exercise can also keep you from gaining weight
or losing muscle.
continued
• Do weight-bearing exercise to help keep your
bones strong. Some examples of weight-bearing
exercise are walking, jogging and weight lifting.
• Have your bone density tested. Talk with a doctor
or specialist about diet and medicines that can
help keep bones strong.
• Eat fewer calories to keep from gaining weight.
• Dress in layers that you can remove during a
hot flash.
• Ask about medicines that can help some of the
side effects.
Still other men are given hormone therapy to slow
the growth of cancer when other treatments have
not worked for them. These patients will usually
continue hormone therapy for the rest of their lives,
or until the therapy no longer works.
Why would hormone therapy no longer
be effective?
Prostate cancer cells can change so they don’t
need testosterone. These cells slowly grow and
replace the cells that do need testosterone. When
there are enough of these cells, hormone therapy
no longer works.
How long will I need to be on hormone therapy? How long will it take for my body to adjust
Some men are given hormone therapy to reduce the after stopping hormone therapy?
size of their prostate before getting other treatments.
In these cases, hormone therapy is usually stopped
after the treatment is done.
Other men are given hormone therapy to reduce the
chance of the cancer growing and spreading before
and after treatment. If, after a period of time, PSA
tests and digital rectal exams do not show any signs
of cancer, you can usually stop the treatment. But
you must keep getting tested regularly.
Usually, the length of time you have been on
hormone therapy is how long it will take for you
to feel “normal” again. For example, if you are on
hormone therapy for three months, it will usually
take about three months for your testosterone levels
to go back to what they were before the therapy.
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