Dear Dr. K: I’m a 75-year-old man who recently underwent prostate cancer surgery. I’ve begun to have what I think are hot flashes. I’m baffled, because I thought hot flashes were a female problem. Could I be having male hot flashes?

Dear Reader: In short, the answer is yes. As with hot flashes in women, sex hormones are to blame.

Women get hot flashes at menopause, when their estrogen levels drop. In men, the problem is testosterone, a type of hormone called an androgen. More specifically, declining testosterone levels can lead to hot flashes in men.

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