Supportive care for pituitary gland cancer

Supportive care helps with the physical, practical, emotional and spiritual challenges of pituitary gland cancer. It’s an important part of cancer care. There are many programs and services available to help meet the needs and improve the quality of life of people with cancer and their loved ones, especially after treatment has ended.

Recovering from pituitary gland cancer and adjusting to life after treatment is different for each person, depending on where the cancer was in your body, the tissues removed during surgery, the type of treatment and many other factors. Even though treatment has ended, there may be other issues to deal with, such as coping with long-term side effects.

If you have been treated for pituitary gland cancer, you may have the following concerns.

Hypopituitarism is a condition that happens when the pituitary gland doesn’t make enough of 1 or more hormones. It causes low levels of pituitary gland hormones in the body. Hypopituitarism can happen when:

• a tumour has damaged or destroyed parts of the pituitary gland
• the pituitary gland is damaged during surgery or radiation therapy
• part or all of the pituitary gland has been removed during surgery

The symptoms of hypopituitarism vary depending on which pituitary gland hormones are affected. They include fatigue, feeling cold and weight changes.

Hypopituitarism is treated with hormone replacement drugs. You may need to take the drugs for the rest of your life. How treatment is given and how often it’s given depends on the type of hormone being replaced.

Arginine vasopressin deficiency is also called diabetes insipidus. It’s a condition that develops when the body makes large amounts of urine. It happens when the pituitary gland makes too little antidiuretic hormone (ADH). ADH controls the amount of water in the body and how much urine it makes.

Arginine vasopressin deficiency can be caused by pituitary gland cancer. It may also happen after surgery to remove pituitary gland cancer. It’s usually temporary and gets better a few weeks after surgery.

Arginine vasopressin deficiency is managed by desmopressin, which is a drug that replaces ADH. It’s given by a nose spray, pill or injection. Your healthcare team will also monitor how much you drink and urinate.

Some people have vision problems or vision loss if pituitary gland cancer presses on the nerve that connects the eyes to the brain (optic nerve). Vision problems usually improve after the cancer is treated. In some cases, vision problems may last for a long time.

Your healthcare team can suggest ways you can manage vision problems or changes.

Find out more about eye and vision problems.

To make decisions that are right for you, ask your healthcare team questions about supportive care.