Prostate cancer: hormone therapy can trigger depression

The prostate cancer is one of the diseases that appear in men. The topic is already known, in the field of medicine, for a subject that, most of the time, they prefer not to talk about.

Whether out of fear or shame, not talking about the disease can be dangerous. This is because, in most cases, the cancer prostate grows slowly and shows no signs long, but when diagnosed, the stage of disease may be advanced.

As treatment, depending on the case, doctors recommend surgery (removal of the prostate) or hormonal treatment.

A drug option that reduces the level of male hormones, such as testosterone, as they are able to stimulate cancer cells.

However, according to the study, this treatment (hormonal therapy) can cause side effects that affect the sexual functioning of men and also the emotional.

The study

Danish researchers analyzed about 5,600 men with prostate cancer to see how this relationship (hormone therapy and depression ) develops.

As a result, scientists observed that over time, more than 770 men experienced depression.

The discovery showed that those who were treated with hormone-reducing medications, the chances of depression doubled when compared to other patients.

And in cases where patients had to have their prostate removed, the rates of depression were even more significant.

Read more: Drinking coffee can slow the progression of prostate cancer

Hormone therapy and depression

This relationship still seems a little confusing, but from the study it was possible to see that they are linked.

When a man is destined to start treatment to decrease the levels of his hormones, erectile dysfunction can occur .

This can make patients, in addition to being already fragile knowing of the existence of the disease in their body, still become more insecure, increasing the chances of depression.

That is, it does not mean that drug therapy causes depression, but that patients who use this method are more likely to have depression than other people.


Facing a disease that not only affects physical health but also affects mental health is not always easy.

You need to keep friends and family close by, include physical activity and take time for yourself, in fact, you need to keep your emotional balanced.

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