Is it safe to consume alcohol with dinner while socializing.

Salamandra

Thank you so much Beesy for taking the time and effort to dive into that study and explain it.

I think for some women, cutting out alcohol is a low impact thing they can do to have the *feeling* of some kind of control over the cancer. Overall it is a benefit to their quality of life since it cuts down on their anxiety. If they previously drank to excess or had a complicated relationship with alcohol it could be a physical or mental health benefit too.

But that is worlds away from actual evidence about how most women with breast cancer should make decisions about alcohol or other foods, and there is so much misinformation in the world that I think it does a lot of harm, and posts like yours can hopefully make a difference pushing back against dangerous myths.

edj3

Piling on with the Beesie love! Seriously, I love how rational and evenhanded you are in sharing information and linking back to studies. So appreciate it!

LoveFromPhilly

interesting thread!

I believed i was living a very healthy lifestyle aside from the stress of grad school, I was eating very well, dancing all the time (exercise), great social life, meditating and doing tai chi and qigong all the time, etc etc...I have pretty much always had a limit of 2 drinks - I have an internal mechanism that just makes me not be able to have more than that, I just don’t desire it. So if I would go out and drink, it was never more than 2 drinks or either wine, beer or a cocktail.

Then boom: hit with stage 4 de novo MBC.

I went through a series of trying to find something I did, ate, drank, etc to blame for this happening to me. It lasted maybe the first year or so??? Lots of therapy and talking it out with loved ones and mental flossing helped me get to this place in my mind:

Eat as well as I can, drink and be merry, be happy, don’t worry now. DO NOT WORRY.

Such a relief to NOT worry!!

I still won’t eat at McDonald’s but I if someone were to have French fries from there and offer me one, I’d eat it!

And I still drink one or two drinks maybe 1-3 nights a week. Depends on the social calendar. I am very happy not drinking or having a drink. Either way is good!

We do know that there are certain things that cause inflammation in the body: certain foods, environmental factors, pesticides, toxins, alcohol and drugs when overused, etc etc...however, the science is unable to prove a direct correlation between alcohol and breast cancer yet. We do know that it can cause liver and stomach cancers especially in alcoholics...soooooo perhaps the breasts aren’t so far away? Moral of story: don’t drink like an alcoholic. Or if you can’t control yourself,don’t drink at all!

Meow13

I agree there can be value in believing you are doing something to actively prevent your cancer. My SIL swears eating broccoli seeds is helping her. She never drank alcohol, eats a plant based diet and exercises so the seeds she claims have anti cancer properties are lowering her risks. I don't take supplements other than krill oil, vitamin D & E also calcium. Funny thing I never drank alcohol before my BC diagnosis now I do occasionally.

dtad

Hi Meow13...the broccoli seeds probably are helping. Cruciferous vegetables have been shown to lower estrogen levels and thus recurrence rates. I take it in supplemental form. As far as drinking alcohol, I think its a very complicated issue and is more about ones relationship with it than anything else. It was never important to me so its a non issue. I personally know others that would have a much harder time with it. Good luck to all navigating this complicated disease.