Chemotherapy has been the remedy for cancer since the late 90s. But in today’s world the medical field has been improved so much that new methods have been invented. One of them is Hormonal therapy. It is used to cure some types of breast cancer that are affected by hormones. Receptor proteins in the breast cancer cells attach to estrogen and help the cells grow. This therapy stops the receptors attaching to estrogen in various ways.
When it is used?
Hormonal breast cancer therapy is performed after surgery to prevent the cancer from coming back. It is also applied to treat the cancer that has come back or to prevent the cancer from spreading to other parts of the body. Sometimes, if needed, it starts before the surgery. It takes five years, generally.
How it works?
Hormonal therapy mainly stops estrogen from acting on the cancer cells or lowers the estrogen level. There are different ways to do that.
There are some other types of hormone therapy that are less common. They were used more in the past. They are:
Side Effects:
Unfortunately, Hormonal breast cancer therapy has lots of side effects. They are-
Although hormonal therapy has lots of side effects, they are limited to different kinds of hormonal therapies and it is not necessary that they will surely happen. But it is best to undergo any kind of treatment with a doctor’s advice. So patients should consult the doctor first. In case you have a concern or query you can always consult an expert & get answers to your questions!