When men get prostrate cancer, they check harmone levels. i don't think its meaningless to check. I have zero estrogen now. That is a number in which to judge the effectiveness of the medication. They need studies that demonstrate these pills are worth the side effects. - similar to the oncotype test where they can now test whether or not you would benefit from chemo, and thank goodness that test came back negative for me. One has to weigh their quality of life - this is not about hot flashes