Hormone Therapy: The Basics

"Hormone Therapy" sounds.....nice. Hormones are good. Therapy is good. So far it sounds great.

What Is Hormone Therapy?
In the prostate cancer world Hormone Therapy means using medications to stop the production of testosterone.  One way to make the term more descriptive would be to call it Hormone Suppression Therapy. (In contrast to Hormone Replacement Therapy which is used to treat other medical conditions.)

Another term for Hormone Therapy is Androgen Deprivation Therapy (ADT), which is a more medically accurate description. Then, of course, there's the non-euphemistic, blunt way to describe Hormone Therapy:  temporary chemical castration.

When Is It Used?
Hormone Therapy is used when there is evidence that prostate cancer has spread outside of the prostate. Prostate cancer feeds primarily on testosterone. By suppressing testosterone production, prostate cancer cells, wherever they might be, are starved and, consequently, weakened.

What Medications Are Used?
There are numerous medications that can be used to stop testosterone production. I'm on Lupron (stops testosterone in the testicles) and Abiraterone (stops testosterone in the adrenal glands). This combination of medications is very commonly used. Other medications that stop testosterone product are Orgovyx, Firmagon, Xtandi and Nubequa, among others.

How Effective Is Hormone Therapy?
Hormone Therapy is typically extremely effective. It works so well in fact that, prior to the availability of high end prostate cancer PET scans, doctors thought patients were being cured.  It is a great treatment when cancer spread has occurred or is suspected.

While the treatment is effective, it is not "nice". Suppressing testosterone in a man brings on a whole host of side effects - which will be covered in another post.