Wine

KitCat1

hello all.

I really enjoy my red wine while making dinner, with  or after.  LOL...does anyone have any input? I know alcohol should be avoided. I finshed chemo 3 weeks ago and am on Hercepton for a year. I have not really had any wine through this all . I really enjoy a glass or two?? is this that bad? will it bring on recurrance? Any thoughts would be great! GEEZ... I want to enjoy something!!

Cathy xo

Claire_in_Seattle

Hi Kitcat,

First of all, most of the alcohol studies pertain to women with ER+ breast cancer.  I don't think you have that much to worry about.  Even being ER+, I decided that there are limits to everything.

The big news was from the San Antonio conference last year.  At that time,  Dr Winer of Dana Farber and Michelle Holmes of Harvard each responded to the San Antonia BC conference (Kwan and team) study.  Their take was that this was vastly overblown.  Michelle Holmes pointed out that overall mortality was no different.  So protective re: heart disease and slightly higher risk re:BC.  These findings pertained to ER+ breast cancer.

Anyway, would love to join you in a glass of red wine tonight!!!  I do have to say though, that I found the three week point a bit too early.  But was fine about Week 5. - Claire

debbie6122

Kitkat- there is so much stuff out there they say we should avoid, one day its good for us the next day its not, there is no ryme or reason for why we get bc- I say go ahead and enjoy that glass of wine or 2 and just do every thing in moderation, the days i felt good going thru chemo i drank wine or beer or what ever i felt like having! I'll join you and claire with a glass tonight as well!

redninrah

i had didnt have red wine during the 1st 2 weeks post chemo but week 3 my mouth was fine and i enjoyed a glass or two

KitCat1

Hey girls,

I'm about 4 weeks post chemo... yay.. so glad it's done and I am definately... after reading your posts, going to enjoy a couple of glasses of a fine dry red tonight!  Everything in moderation, so true~!Cheers friends, thanks for the info! xox

lisasinglem

I'm with redninrah - I haven't really felt like having any wine during weeks 1 and 2 of each chemo treatment, but during week 3, I enjoy a glass with dinner sometimes.  And, once I'm post chemo, I will DEFINITELY be drinking some wine.  Everything in moderation!

Claire_in_Seattle

I didn't do wine with chemo as thought my liver had enough of a challenge.

HOWEVER......am enjoying some wonderful red wine as I make dinner.

CHEERS!!!

I do have to warn you Kitcat that I am not satisfied with anything inferior any more.  Feel a major need to treat myself right.

Hope you are drinking something wonderful. - Claire

lovetosail

I agree Claire - even before my BC I had a T-shirt that said "Life is too short to drink cheap wine" and somehow it seems like even better advice now!

debbie6122

love that!!! I have an excuse to buy the better stuff now LOL!

lago

Last night was our 16th wedding anniversary. We went out for French food. Yes I had a glass of wine. My first chemo TX was Oct. 5th. I don't drink that often and probably won't till after chemo is done… but last night's glass of wine was really nice.

debbie6122

Lago-  happy anniversary!!! Glad you got to enjoy that glass of wine

kira1234

lago, Happy anniversary. Glad you enjoyed the glass of wine. My onc. told me no problem having wine weeks 2and 3, but not week 1.

Boo307

kitcat,

I settled on not having any wine for the year and a quarter until chemo and Herceptin were over.  I really did miss it, which concerned me.  I did find that V8 was a good substitute for me.  By the way I also saw my liver function values return to the normal after having been slightly elevated for years.

Now I have a glass or two on special occasions, or when I feel like it, but not two glasses a night as I used to.

Best wishes in finding the right path for you.

Boo

lago

Thanks everyone.

BTW they gave me this big 3 ring binder at my chemo training. The only time it said something about no alcohol is when you are having issues like heartburn. Personally I felt the nutrition part of the notebook pretty weak. I eat healthier than they recommend.

nora_az

I actually asked my oncologist this question yesterday. I will start chemo and herceptin on the 19th of this month and I, like you, enjoy a glass of wine while cooking dinner etc. Nothing heavy, just maybe a glass of red perhaps 5 nights per week.

He told me to go on and enjoy my glass of red wine. He did warn me that there is a strong chance that I wont like it though. He said the chemo and everything may alter the taste of things I really like now. He said, if you try it and like it there is no reason to not have a glass of red in the evenings.

awjkej

I have decided to give up wine except for a few occasions a year.  I am ER+PR+ and HER2+++.  I also have bone mets and right hilar area node involvement.  Since my cancer is fairly aggressive, I really try to eliminate what I can to extend my life for as long as I can.  It has been 7 years since initial diagnosis and 6 years since mets.  I plan on being around for awhile

debbie6122

Awjkej- I Hope you will be around for years and years to come!

debbie6122

Did you know:

That  red wine has more sugar and sodium than white wines? I didnt i have been drinking red lately thinking it was the opposite- apparently, sav blanc and chardonly has the least of any, guess since i have a glass a week i will switch it to white.,, who knew!

Ktluedtke

Hi Ladies,

I also liked my wine, maybe a little too much though, I asked my Onc too when I was diagnosed and she said yes, you can still have your wine...that's all I needed to hear.   But I was misusing it to mask my fear I think, I started to drink more and was trying to pretend that nothing was wrong and continue my life as I always did.  I am HER2 + and after learning much more about BC I have decided to not drink alcohol at all as I feared it may have been the cause of my cancer as I too drank a lot of alcohol in my younger years, I certainly had my fair share.  I haven't had any alcohol now since I finished all my treatments...I did 4 months of chemo, 7 weeks of radiation and 1 year of Herceptin, I quit drinking acohol a couple months into my Herceptin.  I heard so much about that alcohol may cause certain cancers...especially Her2+ as I was.  I do miss a nice glass once in a while though...have one for me too!!

InTwoPlaces

I was told by my Onco nurse that I could drink wine (in moderation) except  2 days before and after chemo.

(I'm on AC (TH))

Edited to say that this is of couse if I don't take any medication that I can't drink alcohol while taking it.

CoolBreeze

 I  now only drink at parties of if I go out to dinner, and at the most I have two beers.  I do believe everything in moderation but my parents are both alcoholics and my mother is dying of end-stage alcoholism now so I am biased against it.  I don't think I'm going to go down her path but my body has already done one mutation for unknown reasons - and I was a heavy drinker when I was young because I grew up thinking that was normal.   I don't want to do anything to cause it to happen again so I'm staying away.

My mother had cervical and breast cancer.  She also is a smoker, which I am not.

Enjoy your wine but not on a daily basis.  Don't forget, it's extra calories!  Chemo puts us in menopause and we have to monitor for weight gain too.  

deekaay

I'm two years out, HER2, and initially, my onc said wine was ok.  About six months ago at a routine visit, my onc NP said a new study said no more than 4 glasses per week.  She was very adamant.

bdavis

So... who to believe?? My onc said I could eat or drink whatever I wanted... I usually have 2 glasses or 2 beers maybe 3 times a week... and no one said anything about not drinking on chemo day... I have done whatever... Maybe it depends on the type of chemo?? I am on TC. Not sure... some people seem surprised that I can drink.