The treatment of certain cancers such as prostate cancer or breast cancer may require the use of treatments that can affect hormone levels in men and women respectively. These cancer treatments may lead to bone loss.

People on these medications may experience ongoing bone loss, and some individuals are at risk for more rapid bone loss than others. Risk factors associated with bone loss include being over 65 years of age, history of fractures occurring with minimal trauma such as a fall from standing height, previous history of use of steroid medication such as prednisone, having a parent who had a hip fracture,

You or someone you know may have recently been started on Androgen Deprivation Therapy, also known as ADT or Hormone Therapy, for prostate cancer treatment. ADT essentially lowers testosterone in your body to almost zero, so that your prostate cancer is essentially “put to sleep”. Most of the side effects of ADT are related to this low testosterone.

Your “Heart Health” is very important while on ADT, as this treatment may increase the risk of cardiovascular side effects, especially in patients with a previous history of cardiac disease or previous cardiac events, such as a previous heart attack.

For this reason, it’s very important that lifestyle modifications are implemented, for example, smoking cessation, getting regular exercise and maintaining a healthy diet. If you need help trying to stop smoking, don’t hesitate to reach out to your family doctor for help. Some patients benefit from seeing a Nutritionist for advice on healthy food choices that are geared towards heart health and weight management.

Enrolling in a local supervised exercise program can be beneficial, to formally ensure you are meeting exercise targets for optimal heart health. We recommend 150 minutes of moderate intensity aerobic exercise spread over 3-5 days. Weight gain while on ADT may heighten your cardiac risk, so diet and exercise are crucial!

Your blood pressure should be well controlled with a target of less than 130/80. Your weight should be optimized as much as possible. Controlling blood glucose and cholesterol levels are important for heart health, especially on ADT. You should engage your family doctor or cardiologist to ensure that your blood work for glucose and cholesterol are on target, and if not, the addition of dietary and/or medical therapy may be beneficial to achieve these targets.

Patients with a cardiac history, who have been started on ADT, would benefit from being followed by a cardiologist in addition to their urologist/oncologist. By following these recommendations, your cardiac health can be optimized, and you will be working towards making your heart as strong as it can be!