In 1966, a urologist named Charles Huggins won the Nobel prize for the discovery that the prostate is dependent on testosterone (the male hormone). Therefore, eliminating testosterone from the circulation of a prostate cancer patient will provide a period of disease remission. This castration is achieved either surgically (removal of the testes) or more commonly medically (shots). Patients can expect usually a long period of cancer control, but side effects are common (hot flashes, fatigue, impotence, osteoporosis). Hormone ablation is not a curative treatment, as the cancer eventually begins to grow without testosterone. It is most often employed for older patients, aggressive cancers, or when cancer recurs after other treatments.