Hormone Therapy Benefits For Breast Cancer

Introduction

The body produces hormones naturally through small triangular-shaped organs that are on top of the kidneys, known as the adrenal glands. The adrenal glands’ primary function in the body is to produce hormones and secrete them into the bloodstream, where they are being transported into each of the organ systems and making sure that the body is functioning properly. For females, the two main hormones are estrogen and progesterone, while for males, the main hormone is testosterone. When there are unwanted pathogens that enter the body, it can cause the body to be dysfunctional, causing the adrenal glands to do one or two things. The adrenal glands can either underproduce or overproduce the hormonal production and if it’s not diagnosed over time it can cause chronic illnesses to develop. Hence why hormone therapy has beneficial factors for individuals that have a low hormonal count in their body system. By referring patients to qualified and skilled providers who specialized in hormone wellness services. To that end, and when appropriate, we advise our patients to refer to our associated medical providers based on their examination.  We find that education is the key to asking valuable questions to our providers. Dr. Alex Jimenez DC provides this information as an educational service only. Disclaimer

Can my insurance cover it? Yes, in case you are uncertain here is the link to all the insurance providers we cover. If you have any questions, please call Dr. Jimenez at 915-850-0900.

What Is Hormone Therapy?

Hormones in the body can naturally decline due to age and for females, having a low hormonal count in the body can transition to menopause, thus causing uncomfortable symptoms for many females. The female body produces two hormones that help the female body function properly. There are estrogen and progesterone. These two hormones help many bodily functions which include:

• Regulates blood pressure
• Preventing osteoporosis
• Maintaining cholesterol levels
• Influences calcium in the body

With hormone therapy, low levels of hormones can be replenished in the body and can alleviate unwanted symptoms that the body is feeling. Not only that research shows that hormone therapy is tailored to each person that needs hormone therapy. With hormone therapy treatments, the female body can regenerate the lost hormones that the body needs to function and dampen the effects of menopause.

Benefits For Using Hormone Therapy

There are many beneficial properties that hormone therapy can provide to the female body. Even though hormone therapy has been known to help alleviate the symptoms of menopause, there are other beneficial factors that hormone therapy can help the body from dysfunctioning and can help replenish hormonal growth to the body. Some of the beneficial factors that hormone therapy can help  are:

• Lower the chances for osteoporosis
• Improve mood and overall mental well being
• Lowers the risk of diabetes
• Lowers the risk of various cancers including breast cancer
• Moderately improve joints

Treatments from hormone therapy can help replenish the lost hormones and even promote optimal wellness for the body to regulate itself back to normal.

What is Breast Cancer?

Breast cancer is the most diagnosed cancer in women and is known to evolve silently in women through regular screening. Studies have shown that breast cancer develops due to DNA damage and genetic mutations that can be influenced in the body. Since the hormones estrogen and progesterone are the main hormone regulators in the female body for breast tissue growth, the hormones themselves can attach to the cancer cells and progress further if it is not pre-diagnosed. This can cause a variety of symptoms that breast cancer can cause to the female body. These include some of the following common symptoms:

• Changes in the breast’s shape or nipple
• Lumps in the breast tissue
• Redness in the skin over the breast

Other factors that can cause breast cancer include:

• Family history
• Environmental factors
• Inherited genes
• Lifestyle factors
• Hormonal factors

How Is Hormone Therapy Is Beneficial To Breast Cancer Treatments?

There are many studies and reports that the use of hormonal therapy as part of breast cancer treatments can help slow cancer from progressing forward in the individual. Studies have shown that hormone therapy can provide treatment to breast cancer by:

• Slowing down or stopping cancer growth 
• Easing cancer symptoms that are affecting the body

Other studies have shown that hormone therapy can help prevent the body’s hormones by blocking them from attaching to cancer cell receptors or even decreasing the hormonal production in the body. Since hormones are part of the endocrine system, endocrine hormone therapy can help lower estrogen levels stunt cancer growth from progressing, and even lower the tumors that have developed in the breast tissue. By combining cancer treatments with hormone therapy, the beneficial factors that it can provide are:

• Making tumors smaller before radiation therapy
• Lowering the risk of cancer returning after the main treatment
• Destroying returning cancer cells from spreading to other parts of the body

Through observational evidence shows the use of hormone therapy does not alter the risk for breast cancer in women with a family history of breast cancer can help stop the cancer cells from spreading throughout the entire body.

Conclusion

All in all, hormone therapy has many therapeutic properties from dampening the effects of menopausal symptoms to providing beneficial factors to aiding breast cancer treatments. Since hormones naturally decline due to age, hormone therapy can help replenish and regulate hormone levels back to normal and promote a healthy body. By catering to different individual needs, hormone therapy can help a person’s wellbeing by replenishing lost hormone levels that the body needs to function properly and help alleviate the symptoms that low hormone levels have caused.

References

Staff Professionals, Mayo Clinic. “Hormone Therapy for Breast Cancer.” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 29 Dec. 2020, www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/hormone-therapy-for-breast-cancer/about/pac-20384943.

Alkabban, Fadi M., and Trow Ferguson. “Breast Cancer.” StatPearls [Internet]., U.S. National Library of Medicine, 7 Aug. 2021, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK482286/.

Awan, A, and K Esfahani. “Endocrine Therapy for Breast Cancer in the Primary Care Setting.” Current Oncology (Toronto, Ont.), Multimed Inc., Aug. 2018, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6092062/.

Medical Professionals, Cleveland Clinic. “Hormone Therapy for Menopause: Types, Benefits & Risks.” Cleveland Clinic, 28 June 2021, my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/15245-hormone-therapy-for-menopause-symptoms.

Medical Professionals, NCI. “Hormone Therapy for Cancer.” National Cancer Institute, 29 Apr. 2015, www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/types/hormone-therapy.

Professionals, Mayo Clinic. “Hormone Therapy: Is It Right for You?” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 9 June 2020, www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/menopause/in-depth/hormone-therapy/art-20046372.

Tremont, Alexander, et al. “Endocrine Therapy for Early Breast Cancer: Updated Review.” The Ochsner Journal, The Academic Division of Ochsner Clinic Foundation, 2017, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5718454/.

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