Hormone therapy, which is used to treat cancers of the breast and of the lining of the uterus, starves the tumor of the hormone it needs to grow.

This can be done using medicines. For example, the drug tamoxifen keeps breast cancer cells from using estrogen. Other drugs -- exemestane, anastrozole, and letrozole -- keep testosterone from being converted to estrogen.

A few women have their ovaries removed or have their ovaries treated with radiation to make them inactive. This is another way to deprive a cancer of the hormones it needs to grow.

Any of these treatments will most likely produce symptoms of menopause. These include hot flashes, an interruption of the menstrual cycle, and vaginal dryness. In spite of these changes, a woman should still be able to feel sexual desire and reach orgasm. Sexual intercourse will not cause harmful increases in estrogen levels in the body.

When other hormone treatments no longer work, women with breast cancer may also be treated with large doses of androgens (see "How the female body works sexually"). This type of androgen treatment may raise a woman's sexual desire. At the same time, large doses of androgens can also deepen her voice, cause her to develop acne, and cause the growth of facial hair. Her clitoris may also enlarge slightly. But androgens will not change her personality or make her feel more like a man. When androgens are given to control cancer, the benefits usually outweigh the problems.

Very low doses of androgens may be used to treat women with premature menopause. A small amount of androgen sometimes can boost sexual desire without causing other side effects.

Last Medical Review: 11/10/2008
Last Revised: 11/10/2008