Table of Contents

Chapter 6: Using Hormone Therapy

g. Deciding a Course That’s Right for You

The many options for hormone therapy make it difficult to know how and when to proceed. But regardless of which option you choose, you should feel confident that there’s no right or wrong choice. For the most part, it is clear that hormone therapy is essential in men with documented metastatic prostate cancer, particularly if they have symptomatic disease. Other uses of hormone therapy have their pros and cons, and their potential benefits in each case must be weighed carefully. Yet regardless of which regimen is chosen and how it is used, all hormone therapy strategies work toward the same goal of slowing the growth of your prostate cancer.

For most men, the hardest part of hormone therapy is the side effects. The presence of testosterone is important for those characteristics that we typically associate with masculinity; the feminization seen with its loss—even if estrogens are not added—can be difficult for many men. Carefully review the side effect profile of the different regimens, and discuss with your healthcare team potential ways to minimize the effects. In the end, it’s important that you not only understand the value of the therapy in the management of your prostate cancer, but also that you learn how to live your life as best as possible while fighting the disease.