How long will treatment last?
For most patients, quite a long time. For example, breast cancer
patients who have had surgery usually take the hormone treatment Tamoxifen for five years afterwards.
Prostate cancer patients may have hormone therapy
for three months before radiotherapy
. If the prostate cancer has spread, patients normally have hormone therapy for as long as it keeps their disease under control.
Hormone therapy works better for some patients than for others, and may not be appropriate for every breast or prostate cancer patient. If your doctor thinks it isn't working, s/he may stop the hormone therapy and discuss other treatment options with you.