Making the Decision to Have Hormone Therapy for Breast Cancer

Hormone therapy is usually given in addition to another treatment. It’s given only if tests show that your cancer depends on hormones to grow. When you get it depends on the stage of your cancer. Here’s a list of the stages of cancer that can be treated with hormones and when it would be given.

• As prevention, to lower your chance of developing breast cancer if you have LCIS or are otherwise at high risk. This may be the case even if you were treated successfully for breast cancer years before hormone therapy was available.

• As neoadjuvant therapy, meaning before surgery, to shrink the tumor.

• As an adjuvant therapy, meaning after another type of treatment, if you have Stage I, II, or III breast cancer and to help keep the cancer from returning.

• To slow down the spread of metastatic breast cancer 

You should discuss all your options, as well as the benefits and risks, with your doctor.