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What is hormonal therapy for breast cancer?
If lab tests show that your tumor depended on your natural hormones to grow,
it will be called estrogen-receptor-positive or progesterone-receptor-positive.
This means the tumor will continue to grow when these hormones are present in
your body.
Hormonal therapy is used to prevent the growth, spread, or recurrence of
breast cancer by blocking your body’s natural hormones from reaching any
remaining cancer cells.
Hormonal therapy includes taking anti-estrogen or anti-progesterone drugs, or
having a procedure that makes the ovaries non-functional (called ovarian
ablation).
The anti-estrogen drug tamoxifen (Nolvadex) is one of the most common hormonal
therapy drugs. It has been shown to decrease the chance of recurrence in some
early-stage cancers and to prevent the development of cancer in the opposite
breast. Tamoxifen works by blocking estrogen from attaching to estrogen
receptors on cancer cells. By blocking the estrogen receptors, it is believed
that the growth of the cancer cells will be halted.
While on hormonal therapy, you should continue to have your yearly pelvic
exams, and notify your doctor of any unusual bleeding or pain. The typical
length of time you will take tamoxifen or other anti-estrogen drugs is about
five
years.
Ovarian ablation involves making the ovaries of a pre-menopausal woman
non-functional, either by surgical removal (called an oophorectomy) or by
radiation therapy to the ovaries. Ovarian ablation is not a standard treatment
option for women with early stage breast cancer, but is rather reserved for
women with metastatic disease.
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