Hormone therapy for prostate cancer refers to any treatment that lowers a patient’s testosterone level. Some doctors refer to testosterone as “fertilizer for prostate cancer growth” because it causes prostate cancer to grow and spread. Traditionally, hormone therapy has only been used to treat men with cancer that has spread outside the prostate gland, very elderly patients or those in poor health.

Since hormone therapy does not eliminate cancer, but simply slows its growth, it has seldom been used when the cancer was confined to the prostate gland and other treatments were appropriate. However, recent studies by Harvard Medical School indicate that when hormone therapy is combined with other treatments, it can shrink the prostate tumor and the size of the gland, slow the prostate cancer growth, and provide better overall cancer treatment for patients whose disease has not spread.

Side effects associated with hormone therapy may include loss of sexual desire, inability to obtain or maintain an erection, hot flashes, and breast tenderness and enlargement.