Treatment FAQ

what to expect after lupron treatment for cancer

by Prof. Sydnee Schulist Jr. Published 2 years ago Updated 1 year ago
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You may experience temporary new or worsening symptoms of prostate cancer, including urinary symptoms and bone pain.1,2 Notify your doctor if you develop any new or worsened symptoms after beginning LUPRON DEPOT treatment.

The most common side effects of LUPRON DEPOT include hot flashes/sweats; injection site reaction/pain; general pain; swelling; testicular shrinkage; difficulty urinating; fatigue/weakness; headache; and joint, gastrointestinal, and respiratory problems.

Full Answer

What are the side effects of Lupron?

Side effects of Lupron can include hot flashes, depression, and fatigue. As with any medical treatment, Lupron and other hormone therapies can cause side effects. Many of these side effects are symptoms of having very low testosterone levels.

How long does it take for Lupron to work for prostate cancer?

Testosterone, an androgen hormone made in the testicles, can fuel prostate cancer growth. After beginning treatment, testosterone levels will drop within 2 to 4 weeks and the manufacturer has noted that levels have been shown to remain at castrate levels for more than 5 years. How often should I receive Lupron Depot?

Should you take Lupron for cancer treatment?

According to the ACS, doctors may recommend hormone therapies, such as Lupron, for: cancer that comes back after radiation therapy or surgery cancer that has spread too far for radiation therapy or surgery to cure it people who cannot have radiation therapy or surgery

Is it safe to take Lupron Depot long term?

Lupron Depot is a gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) agonist hormone therapy approved by the FDA for the palliative treatment (to relieve pain and other symptoms) of advanced prostate cancer. Your doctor may recommend you use this medicine long-term. GnRH agonists are often referred to as “androgen deprivation therapy” (ADT).

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What happens after Lupron treatment?

Your estrogen levels will increase for 1 or 2 weeks after beginning LUPRON DEPOT. During this time, you may notice an increase in your current symptoms. You should notify your doctor if you develop any new or worsened symptoms after beginning LUPRON DEPOT treatment.

What should I expect after a Lupron injection?

What to expect at the start of treatment. While LUPRON DEPOT ultimately reduces testosterone in your body, during the first few weeks of therapy, your testosterone levels may rise before they fall. You may experience temporary new or worsening symptoms of prostate cancer, including urinary symptoms and bone pain.

How long does Lupron take to wear off?

The effects of Leuprolide acetate will decrease after you stop taking the medicine. If you've been getting Lupron® every 3 months, your period will usually return within 4 to 8 months after your last shot. If you've been getting Lupron Depot® every month, your period will likely return 6–8 weeks after your last shot.

Does Lupron cure cancer?

Lupron is a type of hormone therapy for prostate cancer. It works by lowering the amount of testosterone in a person's body, which helps slow the growth of cancer cells. Doctors often prescribe hormone therapies in combination with radiation therapy or following surgery.

Does Lupron cause weight gain?

Weight gain or weight loss Weight changes may occur with Lupron Depot use. One of the most common side effects of females taking Lupron Depot is weight gain.

How does Lupron make you feel?

Mild burning/pain/bruising at the injection site, hot flashes (flushing), increased sweating, night sweats, tiredness, headache, upset stomach, breast changes, acne, joint/muscle aches, trouble sleeping, reduced sexual interest, vaginal discomfort/dryness, vaginal bleeding, swelling of the ankles/feet, increased ...

Does Lupron extend life?

Other hormone-blocking drugs like Lupron have mostly taken its place, and may be even more effective, Dr. Zietman said. The study proved the concept that hormone blocking increases survival, he added, so other drugs that do the same thing should also help patients live longer.

Does Lupron weaken the immune system?

Do Eligard or Lupron Depot affect the immune system? No. Neither Eligard nor Lupron affect the immune system. They're a form of hormone therapy and don't affect the bone marrow like chemotherapy.

Will Lupron side effects go away?

Lupron Depot side effects are almost always reversible and will go away after treatment is complete.

Is Lupron considered chemotherapy?

Official answer. Lupron Depot (leuprolide acetate) injection is not a chemotherapy treatment, but a prescription hormone medicine used in the palliative treatment of advanced prostate cancer. Palliative treatment is used to relieve pain or other symptoms and improve the quality of your life.

What is the success rate of hormone therapy?

Hormone replacement therapy users had a 100% survival rate at 6 years as opposed to 87% in nonusers. Both groups of tumors were detected by screening mammography, thus detected "early" by current convention. Yet, we observed a survival benefit for those women who had received HRT.

Does Lupron affect your heart?

Increased risk of developing myocardial infarction, sudden cardiac death and stroke has been reported in association with the use of GnRH agonists such as leuprolide, and triptorelin. Cardiovascular risk factors should be evaluated carefully before treatment initiation.

What is luporn used for?

Lupron is a type of hormone therapy for prostate cancer. It works by lowering the amount of testosterone in a person’s body, which helps slow the growth of cancer cells.

What is the name of the drug that doctors use to treat prostate cancer?

Lupron is the brand name for leuprolide acetate. This drug is a type of hormone therapy that doctors typically use in combination with other treatments to treat people with prostate cancer.

Does Lupron cause low testosterone?

When a person first takes Lupron, their testosterone levels may rise, or flare, before dropping to very low levels. For some people, particularly those with advanced prostate cancer, a testosterone flare can temporarily cause their symptoms to worsen.

Can you tell if your PSA is low after surgery?

I don't have much to add to what the others have said. Nobody can tell you what your PSA will do. If the radiation and the hormones cleaned up all the cancer that remained after your surgery then your PSA will remain very low for a long time. This is certainly possible. Also a possibility is that you have significant metastases outside the area treated by the radiation and the Lupron has been holding down your PSA. If that is the case then your PSA may start to climb quickly as soon as the Lupron wears off. There's a third case between the other two where you have tiny metastases that aren't large enough to elevate your PSA but will gradually grow. That would show up as a very slow PSA growth.#N#Obviously the first possibility -- the one where you are cured -- is the best one but even if one of the others applies the disease can usually be managed, even for Gleason 9 guys.

Does Lupron cause PSA to climb?

If that is the case then your PSA may start to climb quickly as soon as the Lupron wears off. There's a third case between the other two where you have tiny metastases that aren't large enough to elevate your PSA but will gradually grow. That would show up as a very slow PSA growth.

What are the side effects of Lupron?

Other potential side effects of Lupron can include: skin reaction at the injection site. shrunken testicles. hot flashes. mood swings. breast tenderness or growth of breast tissue. erectile dysfunction or loss of sex drive. osteoporosis. loss of muscle mass.

How long does luporn last?

This can make symptoms of advanced prostate cancer worse, but it should last for only a few weeks. Depending on where your tumors are located, these symptoms could include: bone pain. problems with urination.

What is luprolide acetate?

Lupron is a brand name for leuprolide acetate, a luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH) agonist. LHRH is a naturally occurring hormone that stimulates the production of testosterone in the testes. Lupron effectively blocks LHRH, so it reduces the amount of testosterone in your body. Lupron is a type of hormone therapy used to treat prostate ...

What does it mean when your prostate antigen is on the rise?

Periodic blood tests can track rising or falling PSA levels. PSA levels on the rise would indicate that hormone treatment isn’t working.

What is the best treatment for prostate cancer?

Learn more about other prostate cancer drugs. Your doctor may also recommend surgery, radiation, or chemotherapy. In some cases where hormone treatment is no longer effective, a cancer vaccine can help prompt your immune system to attack cancer cells. Ask your doctor if this is an option for you.

How long do men with prostate cancer live?

According to the American Cancer Society, the relative five-year survival rates for men with prostate cancer, compared to men without the disease, are: Almost 100 percent for local stage cancer that has not spread outside the prostate. Almost 100 percent regional stage cancer that has spread to nearby areas.

How long does testosterone treatment last?

There’s no way to know for certain how long the treatment will continue to work. It could be anywhere from a few months to a few years.

Close to divorce after prostatectomy

I am in shock and am grieving what I think is coming soon. My husband had a radical prostatectomy a year ago, one nerve spared, the cancer had left the capsule. He is young (52), and so far, his PSA has been 0 (checked four times a year). When he had the surgery, he developed an infection and had a terrible reaction to cipro.

Is there any chance of a sex life when taking Lupron

Hi All, It looks like I will be going on a six month course of Lupron and I am wondering what this does to your sex life. I believe your libido no longer exists so you have no desire, but what happens if you try to have an orgasm whilst on this drug.

Orgasm after prostatectomy - time for honesty!

Hey guys, I've been thinking about writing this post for quite some time now. In fact about 29 months since my nerve-sparing robotic surgery. It seems the thing that no one wants to talk about honestly- so here goes. Yes we all know that, despite no ejaculation, some of us (maybe nearly all of us) can still get an orgasm.

ANY thoughts: use of Ivermectin for prostate cancer in the lungs?

Prostate cancer nodules just in the lungs. PSA controlled by Bicalutamide at 0.6 BUT, would like to see the cancer gone! Are there any thoughts on use of Ivermectin (Stromectol) tablets? 12mg per day till cancer is gone? Thanks for your thoughts. Sign up to continue reading

What are the side effects of Lupron Depot?

You may experience side effects with Lupron Depot treatment such as: problems with your joints, digestive tract or breathing.

What happens if you stop luporn?

What happens if I stop Lupron Depot? If Lupron treatment is stopped, testosterone levels can rise and your cancer may worsen. Do not discontinue Lupron Depot unless your doctor tells you to stop treatment. In men, testosterone is reduced to castrate concentrations with Lupron Depot treatment.

Can Lupron be used for prostate cancer?

Can Lupron be used intermittently for prostate cancer? The use of intermittent androgen deprivation therapy (intermittent ADT) for prostate cancer is controversial , and studies have found differing results.

Is luporn a slow release?

Lupron Depot is a slow-release (depot) injection and must be administered in your doctor’s office each time you receive it. Lupron Depot is a gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) agonist hormone therapy approved by the FDA for the palliative treatment (to relieve pain and other symptoms) of advanced prostate cancer.

Does luprolide acetate cause prostate cancer?

Patients treated with Lupron Depot (leuprolide acetate) for prostate cancer usually continue treatment, often with other medicines, upon development of castration-resistant prostate cancer, whether it has spread beyond the prostate (metastatic) or not.

Does Lupron cause headaches?

headache. problems with your joints, digestive tract or breathing. Initially, testosterone levels may rise the first weeks of treatment after Lupron Depot injection, causing a fl are of side effects, such as pain or urinary symptoms.

3 Answers

I'm at the same point, and I hope a very long time, my levels are going down with every lab so we'll have to both wait and see, I'll be looking for an answer to this one too

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How Does It Work?

  • Lupron and other LHRH agonists are forms of hormone therapy. For people with prostate cancer, the aim of hormone therapy is to reduce testosterone levels in the body. Male hormones, such as testosterone, encourage the growth of prostate cancer cells. Therefore, lowering testosterone levels in the body can help slow the progression of prostate cancer. Doctors typically prescribe h…
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How Effective Is It?

  • Hormone therapies, such as Lupron, are often effective in combination with other treatments for people with late-stage prostate cancer. Many doctors do not recommend hormone therapy during the early stages of this disease. One potential issue is that prostate cancer can become resistant to LHRH agonists over time in some people. According to the ACS, doctors may recommend hor…
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What to Expect During Treatment

  • Doctors often use hormone therapies, such as Lupron, in combination with radiation therapy or other treatments. They may also use it following surgery. Healthcare professionals administer Lupron as a depot, which is a small implant that they inject under the person’s skin. The individual can often choose an injection site that is suitable for them....
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Testosterone Flares

  • When a person first takes Lupron, their testosterone levels may rise, or flare, before dropping to very low levels. For some people, particularly those with advanced prostate cancer, a testosterone flare can temporarily cause their symptoms to worsen. The symptoms of a testosterone flare can include: 1. blockage of the ureters, the tubes that carry urine from the kidneys to the bladder 2. b…
See more on medicaldailypress.com

Side Effects

  • As with any medical treatment, Lupron and other hormone therapies can cause side effects. Many of these side effects are symptoms of having very low testosterone levels. Possible side effects of hormone therapies, such as Lupron, can include: 1. loss of muscle mass 2. hot flashes 3. fatigue 4. skin irritation at the site of injection 5. erectile dysfunctionor loss of sex drive 6. shrun…
See more on medicaldailypress.com

Alternative Treatment Options

  • There are several treatment options for prostate cancer, including other LHRH agonists and various types of hormone therapy. Other LHRH agonists include: 1. goserelin (Zoladex) 2. triptorelin (Trelstar) 3. histrelin (Vantas) Alternative hormone therapies include: 1. Orchiectomy. Also known as surgical castration, this is a surgical procedure to remove a person’s testicles. Th…
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Outlook

  • As prostate cancer often progresses very slowly, the survival rates for this disease are generally high. According to the ACS, the overall 5-year relative survival rate for prostate cancer is 98 percent. This statistic means that people with prostate cancer are 98 percent as likely to live for at least 5 years following diagnosis as those without the condition. However, a person’s outlook ca…
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Summary

  • Lupron is a type of hormone therapy for prostate cancer. It works by lowering the amount of testosterone in a person’s body, which helps slow the growth of cancer cells. Doctors often prescribe hormone therapies in combination with radiation therapy or following surgery. They administer Lupron by injecting it under a person’s skin, which they will do between once a mont…
See more on medicaldailypress.com

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