How do endocrine therapies differ from chemotherapy?
Chemotherapy involves giving drugs that disrupt the way in which the breast cancer cells divide. This means that the cancer cells stop growing and are killed. However, since most chemotherapy drugs act on all dividing cells, they affect the normal, healthy cells of the body as well as the cancer cells. This is why people who are receiving chemotherapy often experience side effects such as hair loss, nausea and vomiting, tiredness or reduced numbers of red or white blood cells. Endocrine therapies differ from chemotherapy in that they do not target and kill the cancer cells directly. Instead, they prevent the hormone receptor-positive cancer cells from receiving the supply of oestrogen, which they need in order to grow. This means that endocrine therapies spare the normal cells of the body and can produce fewer side effects. The side effects usually associated with endocrine therapies are similar to those experienced by women going through the menopause, such as hot flushes, vaginal spo
