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@gregorylynn

I have a question....if hormone therapy only suppresses the growth of cancer cells, why isn't surgery to remove the cancer a more practical approach?

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Replies to "I have a question....if hormone therapy only suppresses the growth of cancer cells, why isn't surgery..."

Gregory, good question. Deciding which treatment is best is a very individual choice. Hormone therapy may also be called androgen suppression therapy. "Lowering androgen levels or stopping them from getting into prostate cancer cells often makes prostate cancers shrink or grow more slowly for a time. But hormone therapy alone does not cure prostate cancer.

Hormone therapy may be used:
- If the cancer has spread too far to be cured by surgery or radiation, or if you can’t have these treatments for some other reason
- If the cancer remains or comes back after treatment with surgery or radiation therapy
- Along with radiation therapy as the initial treatment, if you are at higher risk of the cancer coming back after treatment (based on a high Gleason score, high PSA level, and/or growth of the cancer outside the prostate)
- Before radiation to try to shrink the cancer to make treatment more effective"

Read more: https://www.cancer.org/cancer/prostate-cancer/treating/hormone-therapy.html

If I recall correctly, your first treatment was radiation and more recently you received the news that the cancer has returned. Often surgery alone is not possible with metastatic cancer because it is not localized to one specific tumor or area, like the prostate. What treatments are you getting?