Hormonal Therapy
Hormonal therapy is also known as hormone therapy, hormone treatment, or endocrine therapy. It is often combined with other cancer treatments, and you may receive it before or after other treatment types. Your exact treatment plan will be determined based on your type and stage of cancer.
About Hormonal Therapy
Hormones are chemicals that are made by glands in your body or in a laboratory. They control how your body parts grow and work. Some types of cancers (for example, certain breast and prostate cancers) grow because of hormones in the body. Hormonal therapy can kill cancer cells or slow their growth by using medications that stop the body’s ability to make hormones, or change how hormones work in the body. The hormones are typically given by mouth (orally) or by injection.
Community Services Locator
Use the community services locator available at the Canadian Cancer Society website to find cancer-related services in a specific area.
Funding & Reimbursement
Find out how some cancer drugs are paid for through public funding programs, hospitals or private insurance.
Types
There are several different drugs that may be used in hormone therapy:
- abiraterone
- anastrozole
- exemestane
- fulvestrant
- letrozole
- tamoxifen
Managing Symptoms & Side Effects
General side effects can happen when hormonal therapy is given, but they depend on a number of things, including the specific cancer being treated, how your body responds to the treatment and the type of hormonal therapy being administered. Side effects vary between men and women and by drug. Some of the most common side effects include:
- hot flashes
- loss of interest in sex
- mood changes
- fatigue
- nausea
We offer ways for you to document, track, recognize and reduce your symptoms and side effects. Even with all these resources available, we want to remind you that it’s still important to discuss your symptoms with your healthcare team.
Symptom Assessment Tools
Learn about Your Symptoms Matter, a set of tools to help healthcare providers monitor and manage their patients’ symptoms more effectively.
Symptom & Side Effect Management Guides
Find symptom and side effect tools that help to improve the quality of patient care, including guides on how to manage and relieve symptoms and side effects.