For this small group of women, it is as effective as chemotherapy at prolonging disease free survival and total survival. It leads to a sudden decrease in the amounts of hormones and women begin experiencing the symptoms of menopause within days. Women who go through menopause naturally at a time when they have small, but undetectable, cancers get hormonal therapy without even knowing it. Because chemotherapy and hormones kill cancer in different ways, they may both be used, especially in women whose cancers have estrogen receptors. Certainly research is the key to further understanding and treating breast cancer.
Clinical trials are an important part of breast cancer research.
For most new treatments it takes hundreds of women to determine if there is benefit. Usually it is much more difficult to show benefits in a single person. Whether to join a clinical trial may be a difficult decision for a woman with breast cancer. The potential risks and benefits are not the same for everyone. Questions a woman should ask follow below.