CURE... OR SILENT KILLER?

AFTER HER HUSBAND DIED, LIZ WANTS TO WARN OTHERS

- Emma Levett

For the approximately 26,000 Australian men newly diagnosed with prostate cancer each year, many of them will hear about a treatment called Androgen Deprivation Therapy (ADT).

The commonly prescribed drug is a form of hormone therapy that helps control advanced prostate cancer and its continued growth. However, there are now calls for urgent changes to the way ADT is prescribed, following a number of tragic suicides from men using the drug. It’s a fact Liz Heggaton is sadly all too aware of. She lost her husband, Craig, in July 2024. He was just 63 years old.

Craig had previously been diagnosed with prostate cancer, and had his prostate removed. Four years later, in 2024, the cancer returned, which is when ADT was prescribed.

“Craig had been on antidepressants for the last 20 years and it was well-managed,” Liz tells New Idea. “Taking ADT quietly eroded Craig's mental wellbeing.”