Hormone Treatment For Prostate Cancer Is A Personal Choice

2007-03-08 10:33:40

( Pharmeceutical-Medical )



With the widespread use of prostate specific antigen (PSA) blood test, you will observe that many patients are now diagnosed of localized prostate cancer at a potentially curable stage. Even for those who’ve had definitive prostate cancer treatments, a certain percentage will later develop advanced cancer. For patients such as these, hormone treatment for prostate cancer is the current therapy of choice.

The goal of hormone treatment for prostate cancer is to stop the growth and spread of prostate cancer cells. This is accomplished by stopping the production of testosterone in your testicles. You have some options to accomplish this.

One way is for you to take orally a dose of estrogen. This is rarely used now, for cardiovascular reasons. Another way is for you to have a bilateral orchiectomy, or surgical castration.

Surgical castration is the fastest way to reduce circulating testosterone and ensure long-term reduction. The cost to you is also low, since it’s a one-time outpatient procedure. However, like most men, you may find the thought of having testicles removed psychologically unpalatable. The procedure is permanent and irreversible, which may be a disadvantage.

Another method is through medical castration. In this method, you use another hormone to decrease the production of testosterone to castrated levels. When you are injected the first dose of this hormone, your testosterone level may actually increase.

This increase lasts five to eight days then drops to the target level. This transition phase is important if you have spinal cord metastasis or urinary obstruction, since you may suffer extra discomfort during this stage.

Both types of hormone treatment for prostate cancer may cause you to experience hot flashes, muscle atrophy, decreased libido, fatigue and impotence. The choice between surgical and medical castration is a very individual one, which you will have to make in consultation with your physician.


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