Prostate cancer with radiation
Androgen deprivation therapy alongside radiotherapy is proven to improve outcomes in intermediate- and high-risk disease.
Treatments
Hormone therapy starves cancers
Hormone therapy starves cancers
of their fuel supply.
Some of the most common cancers — most prostate cancers and the majority of breast cancers — grow in response to hormones. Hormone therapy cuts that supply line: lowering the hormone, or blocking the cancer's ability to use it.
~80%Of prostate cancers are hormone-driven
~70%Of breast cancers are hormone-receptor positive
Mo–YrsTypical course length, by indication
Image · placeholderConsultation — discussing an endocrine therapy plan
Image · placeholderIllustration — hormone receptor signalling blocked
Hormone Therapy · What it is
Endocrine therapy, in plain language.
Hormone-sensitive cancers carry receptors that turn hormone signals into growth instructions — testosterone for prostate cancer, oestrogen for hormone-receptor-positive breast cancer. Remove the signal, and the cancer's growth engine stalls.
There are two broad strategies. The first lowers the hormone itself: injections that switch off testosterone production for prostate cancer, or drugs that stop oestrogen production after menopause. The second blocks the receptor so the hormone can't dock — tablets like tamoxifen, or newer receptor-pathway agents.
Hormone therapy is rarely used alone. In prostate cancer it is a standard partner to radiation therapy, making the radiation measurably more effective. In breast cancer it typically follows surgery and radiation for five to ten years, steadily reducing the risk of recurrence. Your plan sequences it deliberately with everything else.
Hormone Therapy · Who is it for
Cancers and situations where Hormone Therapy can help.
Hormone therapy is a foundation treatment for the two most common hormone-driven cancers — used at almost every stage.
Hormone-receptor-positive breast cancer
Endocrine therapy after primary treatment substantially reduces recurrence risk over the following years.
Advanced hormone-driven disease
In metastatic settings, hormone therapy — often combined with newer agents — can control disease for extended periods with preserved quality of life.
Hormone Therapy · How it works
Confirm, choose, treat, review.
The pathway is straightforward — the craft is in choosing the right agents, the right duration, and the right sequence with your other treatments.
Image · placeholderPathology report — receptor status review
Receptor confirmation
Pathology confirms the cancer is hormone-driven — hormone-receptor status for breast cancer, and disease risk profile for prostate.
Image · placeholderConsultation — mapping the endocrine strategy
Choosing the strategy
Your oncologist selects the agent and duration: injections, tablets, or a combination — sequenced with radiation, surgery or other systemic therapy.
Image · placeholderNurse administering a depot injection
Simple administration
Treatment is a periodic injection at the clinic (monthly to six-monthly) or a daily tablet at home — no infusion chair required.
Image · placeholderReviewing PSA trend chart with the patient
Ongoing review
Regular reviews track response — PSA for prostate cancer, imaging and examination for breast — and manage side effects so therapy stays sustainable.
Hormone Therapy · What to expect
Low-drama treatment, managed for the long run.
Day to day, hormone therapy is one of the least disruptive cancer treatments — a tablet at home or a quick clinic injection every few months. There's no recovery time and no interruption to work or travel.
The side effects come from the hormone change itself: hot flushes, fatigue, mood and libido changes, and over longer courses, effects on bone density and metabolism. They're real, and because courses run for months to years, we manage them actively — with monitoring, bone protection, and exercise guidance rather than resignation.
It's a marathon treatment, and it works quietly: steadily suppressing the disease or cutting recurrence risk while you get on with life. Your review schedule keeps it on track.
Image · placeholderPatient at a routine review appointment
Hormone Therapy · Cost & insurance
Is Hormone Therapy covered?
Standard hormone therapies are among the most affordable systemic cancer treatments, with agents on the Cancer Drug List claimable under MediShield Life and Medisave within treatment-specific limits, and covered by major Integrated Shield Plans for listed indications.
We provide a written cost estimate at consultation — including the full expected duration — before treatment begins. Our care coordinator can verify coverage with your insurer in advance.
Image · placeholderAARO specialists at the Centre for Stereotactic Radiosurgery
Hormone Therapy · Your specialists
Meet Dr Daniel Tan→
Who delivers hormone therapy at AARO.
Hormone therapy at AARO is prescribed and reviewed by our oncology team — and where it partners with radiation, your radiation oncologist sequences the two so each makes the other more effective.
Dr Daniel TanSRS · SBRT · Brain · Spine · Oligomets
Dr Jonathan TehProstate · Breast · Gynaecological
Dr Michelle TsengLung · Thoracic · Head & Neck
Dr David TanGU · Prostate
Told your cancer is hormone-sensitive?
Book a consultation. We'll explain what your receptor status means, which strategy fits your case, and how it sequences with your other treatments.