Loading ...Chemical castration is the use of drugs to lower the production of hormones in your testicles.
Doctors use this method to treat hormone-related cancers, such as prostate cancer. Other names for chemical castration are:
- hormone therapy
- androgen suppression therapy
- androgen depressive therapy
Let’s take a closer look at how chemical castration works, what the long-term risks are, and if it can be reversed.
Chemical castration is not a one-time treatment. Your doctor administers the drugs by injection or implants them under your skin.
Depending on the drug and the dose, this must be repeated as often as once a month or as seldom as once a year.
For advanced prostate cancer, your doctor may recommend LHRH antagonists instead. They work faster than LHRH agonists, but don’t cause an increase in testosterone levels. Some of these medicines are:
Chemical castration lasts as long as you continue to take the drugs. Once you stop taking them, hormone production returns to normal.
The effects are generally reversible. But if you’ve been taking the medications for a long time, some side effects may continue.