role of alcohol in breast cancer development and recurrence

I am not, never been much of a drinker.  In fact for the most part think the taste of hard liquor, beer and wine pretty disgusting tasting.  Give me a creamy milkshake any day!  By the way milk is implicated in developing BC also. So I guess damned if you do, damned if you don't.

An Interesting thread.  I dont play the blame game & wonder what I did to get bc.   I think that would drive me crazy.     I do wonder why I got it though.  If I look at all the things that increase ones risks...Vs all the things My Sister would fall into- she should have gotten bc not me. (Im glad she didnt)  Shes 2.5 years older then me

I quit drinking when I was 20. - I drank alot before I quit.  I did not drink again until I was 38.  Then I had 2 drinks about 2 times a week when I went out (vodka),  Now I have 2 drinks a month.

She smoked for at least 20 years, I never have- except 2nd hand smoke.

She had her 1st kid at age 29, Mine was at 25. (we both breast fed)

She has been over weight about 18 years, I have always been a good weight.

She has drank all her adult life- Though not in excess.  She drinks beer when she is with friends, or on the weekend- Did that more when she was younger.

She has a Highly stressful Job & Homelife, Mine isnt stress free- but it doesnt compare to hers.

We have lived in the same or similar suburbs most of our lifes.

I have exercised for the last 8 years, She hasnt- Though shes physically active.

About the only thing different going against me is I like sweets- I loved them most of my life...Now I dont eat them like I used to.

 (shes a Coffee drinker- I have never drank a cup in my life-not that I have heard coffee is bad)

Just kind of Interesting

Pam

I can't remember where, but I do remember reading a study that European women have about the same rate of BC as American women. Something like 1 in 9 to our 1 in 8. Even though our food is more processed, they stated alcohol use could be a factor because it breaks down the same way sugars do and sugars feed the estrogens. They also tend to eat a lot of cheese, butter, white flour, which are all estrogen linked. I talked to a nutritionist who is a 10 year survivor and she totally gave up alcohol and sweets. I have too. I just feel it is better to be safe than sorry. I know some people think I am crazy for giving up all this stuff, but if it makes me feel good so what he heck. Liz, I was really mad at first when I looked around me and saw that people who did not take care of themselves as I tried to who did not get BC, but I did. Then I had to stop myself because I know that they will have their own cross to bear someday. Our bodies cannot be abused forever and be expected to fight off everything. IF ithey do not get cancer, chances are they will get heart disease or diabetes so changing my lifestyle will at least keep me from getting those. I am not saying I am a martyr, I still eat too much chocolate, but I really do not miss most of the stuff and the rewards of feeling and looking better keep me motivated.

I watched Dr. 90210 tonight and noticed the lady that (seemed to me to be anorexic) did not recover from implant surgery nearly as well as the lady that had implant surgery, facial peels, and botox, and tummy tuck at the same time.  Really it was obvious who was healthier.  I am sure the ps noted  the health risks with the anorexic patient as well.

It appears that alchol and excess weight increases Estrogen levels in our bodies so therefore increases our change of breast cancer.  How about if your hormonally negative?

Linda- you're right everyone has a cross to bare.

Swimangel- most doctor's don't inform women who are overweight about the risks. It's really too bad. I'm a researcher and always research things, sometimes too much and drive my doctors crazy with questions but I know most patients trust their doctors and leave it at that. 

Summer- how we recover is definitely related to how healthy we are. It's important to keep ourselves as healthy as we can through proper diet and exercise. After I finished treatment, I went to see a naturalpath who specializes in women's health and has alot of BC survivors as patients. I had to do a food diary and exercise log for her.  She was impressed with my diet and exercise and then said lets not try to figure out what caused my bc but do everything we can to prevent it. 

DFOnt- I hear what your saying...go figure...I too have absolutely no family history and have only an occasional glass of wine or beer but an avid water drinker, I'm the youngest of 6 girls. There is longevity in my family since  I have an aunt that 103 and healthy and others in their late 80's and 90's and healthy too.

It's not just environment, it's environment and genes.  Why is it in sets of twins, one person gets cancer and the other doesn't?  That's because identical twins are not 100% genetically identical.

It has been blamed so far on the environmental factors, but a new study made on 19 pairs of monozygotic twins detected differences in copy number variations (CNVs) of the DNA. These differences occur when a set of coding nucleotide bases in DNA are missing or when extra copies appear. In the moment of the conception, the identical twins may have 100 % the same DNA, but during subsequent DNA replications during the cell divisions, mutations may occur; they add or steal one to several nucleotide bases in the DNA copies of a particular bit. Most of these mutations may not impact health or development, but some can increase the risk of cancer or other diseases.

Here is a link to an article.  Swimangel I think you are onto something here.

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3958/is_200305/ai_n9267963

Yes, I  wish there were studies on alcohol with women who are er-/pr- and have had mastectomies

Are we at risk with a wine a day?

Questions to ask.,

Allyson and Summer, those were great links that you found. It still makes me mad when we find this info, that we are not getting it from our doctors. Why aren't they being more proactive. I don't just mean, for us with bc but for women in general. I had high insulin levels in the past, and no one ever told me to lose weight, cut out the sugars,and exercise more. All I got was, "Oh, your insulin is a bit high, we will need to monitor that". I was thinking diabetes, not BC. And when they told me to take arimidex, no one explained to me how it works. No one explained to me that it would only help recurrance in my case by 5% since my bc was caught early. I was just told it would reduce your chances of recurrance by 50%. I had to figure out on my own that it was only 5 % in my case. I had to find out on my own the value of weight loss, and the link with diet and exercise. Just last week, we heard that exercise reduces your risk by 50%. Isn't that the same as arimidex. I just wish they would give us the whole story. Maybe they think that we will not take their advice and truly change our lifestyle, but they do not even tell us there is an option. I think the reason I do not miss the wine, the cakes, the breads, etc. is because I have a real incentive not to consume this stuff: it raises my risk of recurrance! Duh! Why can't doctors give us the whole story. I had to find all this out on my own. I am so happy I did, but I still am not getting support from my doctors that this is a safe path for me to be on. How I wish doctors were more proactive, not just reactive.