Saturday, May 1, 2010

Are hormone shots helpful in fighting colon cancer

Are hormone shots helpful in fighting colon cancer?
My dad has 1 in 10 cells showing cancer, they are recommending hormone shots every 3 months. Is this helful or not? He doesn't want to get the shots if it is not going to slow it down or stop the growth.
Cancer - 1 Answers
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It would help greatly if you could tell us what specific hormonal agent is being recommended. There are many types of hormones that can be used clinically. Most are not generally used for adenocarcinoma of the colon. And do you mean one in ten lymph nodes show cancer rather than "one in ten cells?" Has you dad had a colon resection? Are you sure this isn't prostate cancer? Adenocarcinoma of the prostate that has spread to the colon might commonly be treated palliatively with hormonal agents. If the doctor is recommending "adjuvant" (preventive) treatments, he or she should be providing you and your dad with the data regarding expected benefits verses risks of treatment. Ideally you would be present with him at the doctor visit when this treatment was recommended. I would not recommend a treatment without explaining the chances for benefit based on experience reported in the medical literature with groups of similar patients. Sometimes there are no family members present, and the patients cannot recall all of the details regarding the explanation. Also, I suspect there are times when today's doctors are too busy to fully explain the rationale of treatments recommended. Modern medical practice with the limits on reimbursement for time seems to force doctors to run people through faster leaving less time to explain things. I was fortunate to retire before I was forced by Medicare and other insurance carriers to see patients more quickly.

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