Alcohol

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Onlyme64
Onlyme64 Member Posts: 71
edited April 2021 in Life After Breast Cancer

I hope I am in the right area. I am done with treatment and moving forward. I got my first mammo after initial diagnosis and it is NED. My oncologist and I spoke about drinking alcohol. She said no more then 5 - 7 drinks a week. I totally understand that and trying to eliminate my drinking, I cut down to 2 budlight seltzers a day.. but according to her that is even too much. just wondering what kind of drinks are safer then others to have in that 5 - 7 range? My birthday is coming up and of course I would like to have a few drinks but worried that even if I cut out/back my drinking that one day will make me have a recurrence?

Guess I really don't totally understand what is concerned moderation? If I don't drink for one week then I have 4 glasses of wine on the weekend, is that bad?

I know drinking is not good for so many reasons, but I want to enjoy on occasion without freaking out that OMG! For example, i had 8 drinks this week and now it will come back.

Thanks,




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  • Peregrinelady
    Peregrinelady Member Posts: 1,019
    edited July 2020
    The information out there varies from no drinking to your oncologist’s advice. I try to limit my drinking to one drink 2 or 3 times a week, at most. Since I am estrogen positive, I want to limit the increase in estrogen that alcohol causes. Sorry, but I do not think it is okay to get your 4 drinks for the whole week in one sitting. And yes, I do understand, as I did enjoy a few beverages before diagnosis. I still do, just a lot less now.
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  • Onlyme64
    Onlyme64 Member Posts: 71
    edited July 2020

    I am not am not saying to get all my drinks in one sitting, I am saying 4 drinks over the weekend.... I know binge drinking is not good. So I guess, I thought I was limiting my alcohol but now need to cut back more.. At my birthday party, I will keep in check with the drinking and try not to over do it.. I just want to put this all behind me and go forward and not think about this anymore, meaning cancer. I just want to go back to normal, where if I do over do my drinking on occasion, that I am not freaking out about it.

    Just don't understand how all this works, my sister and I are the same size, weight, she drinks a lot more then me and she does not have it. Women who never drank gets it..

    I guess I never realized that my drinking would cause this...

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  • Peregrinelady
    Peregrinelady Member Posts: 1,019
    edited July 2020
    Sorry, I didn’t read that correctly. I used to only drink on the weekend so I know what you mean. Maybe 2 drinks on Friday and 2 on Saturday. Now I am spreading them out to one drink a few nights a week since it is summer (or not at all on some weeks). I blamed myself when the information about alcohol as a risk factor came out, but after some research, it looks like it is just another contributing factor that may have increased my chances a bit, but in my case genetics wins out because of family history. I can’t go back and change that but I can be smarter about future drinking. I didn’t drink for a year after diagnosis and now I limit it so that if it comes back, I won’t be kicking myself again. But I am also not going to quit completely as it is a quality of life issue with me.
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  • keepthefaith
    keepthefaith Member Posts: 2,156
    edited July 2020

    My MO told me to limit to what is equivalent to no more than one drink/day. One shot, one 4 oz glass of wine, one beer, whatever. It's all about balance and as Peregrine said, alcohol increases Estrogen production and if you are ER+, therefore increases risk for a recurrence. Just try to keep it in check and be aware of the risks. Anyone who drinks will enjoy more than one on occasion. Best wishes!

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  • Onlyme64
    Onlyme64 Member Posts: 71
    edited July 2020

    thanks ladies, I enjoy my wine, just keep it within the range my doctor told me. Right now, I am not drinking during the week and if I want something I wait for the weekend but only buy 1 small bottle of wine so no leftovers for the week...

    Trying not to over think, but say I do exactly what the doc says, limited my alcohol, but no word about my weight, yeah need to lose about 50lbs, so lose weight, eat healthier, who says that it won't come back.. that is where I will kick my self in the butt.

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  • MinusTwo
    MinusTwo Member Posts: 16,634
    edited July 2020

    The new recommendations are ONE drink a day. And it specifically says you can't save that up and have no drinks on day one and two drinks on day two. So saving up for the weekend doesn't confirm to the new advice. Note: this is the general advice about alcohol having nothing to do with BC patients.

    That said - I believe in moderation. If I choose to have two glasses of wine on Wednesday, nothing Thursday and a gin & tonic on Friday - well.... that's my choice.


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  • Rah2464
    Rah2464 Member Posts: 1,647
    edited July 2020

    My Oncologist was very direct in her assessment of alcohol risk and estrogen positive cancer. She wanted no more than 2-3 drinks a month. So I have followed that, I rarely drink anything. However life is short and you have to have some enjoyment in moderation so I am gradually going back to drinking a little more wine and the occasional bourbon (I am a Kentucky girl after all). I just make sure that my "glass" of wine is quite small and I enjoy it slowly. Works for me.

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  • Onlyme64
    Onlyme64 Member Posts: 71
    edited July 2020

    so I guess I am doing well by just having my wine on weekends.. not a huge bottle but 3-4 for the entire weekend and not in one day. Now I more confused

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  • SummerAngel
    SummerAngel Member Posts: 1,006
    edited July 2020

    My oncologist said it's fine with him if I want a glass of wine or beer with dinner every day, so it just shows that opinions differ. I tend to drink wine or beer on Friday for dinner and then Sunday as well. I occasionally have something on Tuesdays, too. The fact is that alcohol increases risk, but so do many other things. It's just one of them. My cancer may have been "encouraged" by alcohol, but I also had family history, early period onset, and very dense breasts, which are other risk factors. I didn't have any behavioral risk factors other than moderate alcohol consumption, so I don't beat myself up.

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  • ctmbsikia
    ctmbsikia Member Posts: 1,095
    edited July 2020

    I said to my BS that I will not live in a world without wine. I consume more the daily recommended allowance. I think cancer (all types) is a crap shoot. Should I get a 2nd primary or a recurrence do you really think they will be able to definitely say it's because I drank too much? NO.

    Quit worrying so much, go live your life.

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  • Beesie
    Beesie Member Posts: 12,240
    edited July 2020

    When I asked my oncologist, "what about wine?", he replied "I like it".

    He then proceeded to say that for overall health (not just breast cancer risk), his advice is 2-3 drinks per week for women, and 4-5 drinks per week for men (my husband was sitting next to me when I asked the question).

    The simple fact is that the research on alcohol consumption and breast cancer recurrence/risk is all over the map. Clearly, heavy alcohol consumption is not good for us both from the standpoint of breast cancer risk and our overall health. A few studies suggest that even consuming in moderation may increase breast cancer risk but I believe the majority of studies conclude that low or moderate consumption is fine, in that it presents very little breast cancer risk (particularly related to recurrence, according to some studies) and may provide other health benefits. The question is "What is moderate consumption of alcohol?" That's where most of our MO's, those who are okay with some alcohol consumption, seem to differ.

    I used to have 1-2 glasses of wine with dinner every night. More to keep my weight under control that for anything else, I've cut back. Now I have wine with dinner on the evenings when I really feel like having a glass of wine - when we are having a nicer than usual meal or when it's been a crappy day and I want to relax over dinner. So I don't feel like I'm depriving myself because I have wine whenever I feel like having wine, I simply no longer have it with every dinner out of habit. Sometimes it's one glass, sometimes I top it off and it's 1 1/2 or 2 glasses.

    My advice is to find the amount of consumption that you are happy with and then enjoy it. Don't stress over it. The stress is probably worse for your health than any 'extra' alcohol that you might be consuming over the recommended amount (which no one agrees on anyway).

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  • Onlyme64
    Onlyme64 Member Posts: 71
    edited April 2021

    My sister is being screened every 6 months because she has calcium in her breasts and the doc wants to keep an eye on it. She has gone with me to very treatment but stopped on follow-up appointments because of covid. Anyway, she is seeing my breast doctor at the same location I went to my treatments. What she told me blew my mind about what this doc told her about alcohol. First of all, my sister drinks a large bottle of white wine a night. The doc and everyone tells her that is way too much drinking. So, the doc told her about alcohol and breast cancer that it is more the sugar that causes fat and that cancer lives in fat cells, so she really needs to drink only 5 drinks a week. Not so much alcohol causing cancer. Blew my mind, because this doc has told me to watch my drinking and left me with the impression that it was the alcohol not focusing on how sugar = fat and cancer lives in fat cells.

    so talking about being confused with alcohol and relationship with breast cancer....

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  • moth
    moth Member Posts: 4,800
    edited April 2021

    alcohol is a carcinogen.

    It is so culturally embedded that it's a hard convo to have and anytime it comes up, you'll get lots of "moderation, live your life etc etc"

    I believe the mechanism of action is that it damages DNA. It also is an empty calorie and contributes to overweight/obesity which is its own risk factor.

    At the end of the day, not sure anyone has been convinced to change their bhvr by the discussions here. I'm teetotal since dx in 2017 but I drank like 1 drink/year before that so hardly a big change for me.

    https://www.nature.com/articles/bjc2014579


    "In conclusion, consumption of alcoholic beverages increases the risk of cancer of the oral cavity and pharynx, oesophagus (SCC), colorectum, liver, larynx and female breast"

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  • Beesie
    Beesie Member Posts: 12,240
    edited April 2021

    justme, from all the studies I've read, I don't think anyone understands the alcohol to breast cancer link, except that it absolutely is not a direct connection. In other words, it's not that alcohol causes breast cancer. But alcohol may lead to increased weight (more fat) or increased sugars or change the way that estrogen is metabolized leading to higher estrogen levels. Any of those body changes can increase breast cancer risk.

    Breast calcifications are either benign or malignant. They don't change from benign to malignant. So if your sister has calcs that are being monitored, this means that the pattern of the calcs currently appears benign, but if more calcs develop, the pattern might change and the appearance might become more concerning. But if those calcs are benign, nothing your sister does, including drinking alcohol, will turn those calcs malignant.

    That said, drinking a bottle of wine every night is definitely too much. However it is that alcohol indirectly increases breast cancer risk, your sister's risk will be significantly increased by that level of consumption. That amount of alcohol will affect her body in other ways as well, increasing her risk for other types of cancer, and liver disease, heart disease, dementia, etc..

    Personally I do drink wine. But I stick to a moderate or low level of consumption. moth is correct that alcohol is a carcinogen. But to me, that's a red herring, because there are so many things that we consume and are exposed to that are carcinogens. For example, cinnamon is extremely healthy, but in excess can cause liver damage and might be a carcinogen. Wine might be a carcinogen, but is rich in healthy anti-oxidants, and may benefit heart health. The biggest carcinogen we all face is getting older. So I happily believe in moderation, and enjoying one's life, rather than living in fear about everything I consume. But a bottle of wine a night has nothing to do with moderation.



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  • Onlyme64
    Onlyme64 Member Posts: 71
    edited April 2021

    oh I drink in moderation, just amazed me how two docs treating me said different things. I know drinking heavy is not healthy by any means. Before all this I wanted to lose weight and eat healthier which I am doing now.

    I do worry about her drinking, thinking she might have a drinking problem.

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  • LillyIsHere
    LillyIsHere Member Posts: 830
    edited April 2021

    One MO told me not to have more than a glass of wine/week, another one told me OK to have a small glass of wine/day and a third one told me absolutely no alcoholic beverages. I was a social drinker of no more than 2-3 glasses/ week before my diagnosis and since then, I quit drinking. Today I talked to my friend who is 10 yr older than me, a drinker and smoker, always happy and very healthy and here I am, never smoked, not a drinker and always on thinner side. I am going to have a glass of whiskey with my DH, forget the science!

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  • Beaverntx
    Beaverntx Member Posts: 3,183
    edited April 2021

    Chiming in here. When first diagnosed, I eliminated red and processed meats and alcohol from my diet. While I still a avoid the meats (thanks to a history of colon polyps) I have resumed having some wine. Exploring wines and wineries is something my DH and I have enjoyed together for several decades. I am not likely to have very many more decades (currently age 80 years) and I have decided to continue to enjoy a glass of wine 3 or 4 times a week with him. Somewhat ironically I tolerate at most one glass of wine at a time-- Tamoxifen apparently has had an impact on my tolerance!

    As with many things, we each must make our personal choices for reasons that may well be very personal.

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