My elderly mother in USA is being treated for breast cancer with endocrine therapy alone. I understand this can stop the growth or shrink the tumour, but is there a chance (knowing all cases are different) that it will actually CURE the cancer?
My elderly mother in USA is being treated for breast cancer with endocrine therapy alone. I understand this can stop the growth or shrink the tumour, but is there a chance (knowing all cases are different) that it will actually CURE the cancer?
Hi Savetheorangutan
Thanks for getting in touch.
My name is Paula and I am one of the Cancer Information Nurse Specialists on the Macmillan Support Line.
I am sorry to hear about your elderly mother’s diagnosis. I can imagine how difficult it must be for you trying to support your mother who lives abroad.
As we are a UK Charity, we can only give general information and cannot really answer questions about people with cancer who live outside the United Kingdom. This is because there are differences in health services and care in other countries.
You can read about the UK standard treatment for your mum’s cancer here on our website https://www.macmillan.org.uk/cancer-information-and-support. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines are helpful to look at too.
Here in the UK endocrine therapy is used often to control the cancers, shrink tumours and stop the cancer from spreading.
We suggest with your mum’s permission to speak to her oncology team. They will be able to give you a more direct answer to your question about endocrine therapy.
You may find Breast Cancer Now a useful source of information.
I hope you find this information helpful.
Ref; PW/SS
