Breast Cancer Hormone Therapy: What It Is, How It Works, and What You Need to Know

When breast cancer feeds on estrogen, breast cancer hormone therapy, a treatment that blocks or lowers estrogen to slow or stop cancer growth. Also known as endocrine therapy, it’s one of the most common and effective treatments for hormone receptor-positive breast cancer—about 70% of all cases. This isn’t chemotherapy. It doesn’t kill cells outright. Instead, it cuts off the fuel supply. That’s why it works for so long, often for years, even after surgery.

Two major types of drugs drive this approach. One group, like anastrozole, a type of aromatase inhibitor that stops the body from making estrogen after menopause, cuts estrogen production. The other, like alpelisib, a targeted PI3K inhibitor used when a specific genetic mutation, PIK3CA, drives the cancer, blocks signals inside cancer cells that tell them to grow. These aren’t interchangeable. Your doctor picks based on your cancer’s biology, your menopause status, and whether you’ve had other treatments.

It’s not magic. Side effects are real—joint pain, hot flashes, bone thinning, fatigue. But they’re often manageable. You don’t have to suffer through them. There are proven ways to protect your bones, ease joint stiffness, and handle night sweats without stopping treatment. And for some women, especially those with a PIK3CA mutation, drugs like alpelisib offer new hope when other options run out.

What you’ll find in the posts below isn’t just a list of drugs. It’s a practical guide to what actually happens when you start hormone therapy. How to handle the side effects of anastrozole. Why alpelisib is used only in certain cases. How estrogen receptors decide if your cancer will respond. And how other treatments—like those for bone loss or yeast infections caused by long-term meds—fit into the bigger picture. This isn’t theory. It’s what people living with this treatment deal with every day.

Martin Kelly 16 November 2025 12

Hormone Therapy for Breast Cancer: Tamoxifen vs Aromatase Inhibitors Explained

Tamoxifen and aromatase inhibitors are key treatments for hormone receptor-positive breast cancer. Learn how they work, their benefits, side effects, and how to choose the right one based on menopause status, risk, and personal health.