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Hormones

    Hormone treatment is often recommended with breast and prostate cancers. Hormonal intervention with these two cancers, however, is very different.

FOR BREAST CANCER
    It has long been known that a majority of breast cancers respond to hormones. For this reason, the removal of the ovaries was a common treatment. This has been superseded by hormonal drugs, such as tamoxifen, which is taken orally, and has few side effects. It should be taken for at least five years, through doctors may suggest that two years is adequate. About half of patients with hormone-responsive breast tumours will get good results.

FOR PROSTATE CANCER
    Hormones cannot cure prostate cancer, but they can slow the growth. The idea behind the treatment is that the male hormone, testostrerone, helps prostate cancer cells to thrive. Removing this hormone slows the rate of growth. One way in which this can be done is through surgical castration. Another way is through oral hormone pills that feminise the patient. The side-effects of this therapy are often severe - besides breast development and body hair loss, there can be deep-vein thrombosis (blood-clotting). In
fact, the side-effects of all such drugs should be considered with care. Those for hydrocortisone, one of the drugs used, include raised blood pressure, heart trouble, mood changes, blood clots, thinning of the bone leading to increases in fractures, bruising, changes in vision and acne. It doesn't include loss of sexual interest, through this too will almost certainly happen.Sometimes the chest may be irradiated to stop the oestrogen causing breast formation - the result can be painful. The difficulty is that these hormones have to be taken for life. Taking hormones for prostate is clearly a tough option - very severe side-effects have to be borne, for a less than satisfactory objective.