Breast cancer endocrine therapy

Most men only have a small amount of breast tissue. This means they can usually only have a mastectomy. You will usually need some or all the lymph nodes in your armpit removed. This is done in both breast conversing surgery and a mastectomy. You may want to have a new breast shape made during the operation. This is called breast reconstruction. You can choose to have it done at a later time.

Hormone therapy is usually started after surgery. If you need chemotherapy after surgery you will be advised to start endocrine therapy after your chemotherapy has finished. If you are having radiotherapy after surgery but not chemotherapy, hormone therapy may be started during or after the radiotherapy and you can discuss this with the breast team.

Sometimes endocrine therapy may be given before surgery to reduce the size of the cancer making surgical treatment more manageable. If surgery needs to be delayed for any reason pre-surgical hormone therapy may also be offered. This treatment may also be considered as a first line treatment if your safety to proceed with surgery is compromised due to other health conditions.

The initial prescription will be given by your specialist team for 1 month. Your GP will then have instructions to continue to prescribe this and when this should stop. Following a cancer diagnosis you are eligible for free NHS prescriptions through a medical exemption certificate.

Like any treatment endocrine therapy may cause side effects. These side effects can vary from person-to-person. Everyone reacts differently to drugs and some people have more side effects than others.

Some women worry about stopping their hormone therapy. You do not need to reduce your dose or stop in stages. You can simply stop the drug as directed by your breast specialist team. When you stop your endocrine therapy, it will continue to reduce the risk of breast cancer coming back for many years after you finish your treatment. This is known as the carry over effect and may last for five years or longer.

Some people may experience side effects of hormone therapy. It is important to talk with your breast care nurse or cancer specialist if you find you are experiencing side effects before deciding to stop treatment. There may be ways to improve and manage your symptoms, including the potential option for you to change to a different drug. If you continue to have ongoing side effects from the endocrine therapy, you can discuss with your cancer specialist team the best treatment plan for you.

Further information around the drug prescribed for you can be found on the Breast Cancer Now patient publications page and can be discussed with your clinical nurse specialist or the breast team.

If you need information in a different language or an easy read format please can you let the team know and we will try to help with this request.