Does anyone post chemo and active treatment drink alcohol? Before my diagnosis I would drink a bottle of wine on the weekends and would also enjoy a small whiskey shot with my husband. I don’t want to give this up completely but would be happy to reduce. I’m aware of risk of recurrence with alcohol use and recommendations to reduce to 5 units a week. What do we people think?
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Hi
I didn’t have chemo but had 15 sessions of radiotherapy. At my follow up appointment with my oncologist I asked about this and diet affecting reoccurrence. His view was that providing you stay within the normal limits for women that was fine. As expected a normal balanced diet. Bigger factors were weight and exercise.
I know there is plenty out there suggesting otherwise regarding drinks but he is a well respected oncologist who has published papers on reoccurrence so I am following his balanced approach.
I have switched to alcohol free drinks for much of the time (there are some good gins and ciders now, although wine is a bit dodgy) but still enjoy an alcoholic beverage when I feel like it.
Happiness is extremely important for moving forward xx
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@rosa1 - I think it depends on your personal circumstances and how important that social time with family and friends is. I have triple negative BC and there is no ongoing drug treatment so I have decided to give up alcohol completely as I want to try and do everything that I can to reduce the risk of recurrence. If my situation was different I might have taken a more flexible approach. As @66cherry said, your happiness is also important!
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Hi! I still enjoy a few social drinks at the weekend. I have definitely cut back, couldn’t be dealing with a hangover these days anyway. As previously said, happiness is important and life is for living. There are plenty of tea-totallers who get cancer.
Everything in moderation 
Lynne xx
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I was one!
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My cancer is triple negative and I am not aware of any great evidence that it is fed by alcohol. I am also metastatic (more or less de novo). I drink the same amount of alcohol as I did before. Not a huge amount but good quality wine. I am suffering enough without giving up something I enjoy.
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My breast cancer was strongly ER positive so I have given up alcohol. I think it’s easier to stop all together than just have an odd glass. Alcohol free for 19 months now and don’t miss it. Prefer alcohol free beer to wine or gin, but do tend to be the designated driver now🙈
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I am just the same as before and that’s 18 years ago. I enjoy a moderate amount. I went off red wine after chemo though, but my oncologist said to persevere with it ! Moderation is the name of the game.
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I’ve continued to drink whatever I’ve fancied throughout treatment (surgery, chemo, radiotherapy). No side effects at all from the alcohol.
It’s a really tricky one moving forward with NICE guidelines saying no more than 5 Units per week after BC . Thats probably one large G&T at home for me !!!
Don’t know what I’ll do moving forward 
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Hi @rosa1,
Hope you’re getting on ok. I haven’t had chemo, but had a mastectomy and reconstruction three months ago and will be starting radiotherapy soon. I used to have a glass of wine most nights and very much enjoyed it! Since my surgery, though, I haven’t really felt like it. Having spent so much time feeling nauseous/dizzy/rough post-surgery, I didn’t want to do anything that might make me feel like that again. Also, having recently read about the link between alcohol and ER+ breast cancer (which I had), I feel even more disinclined to drink. Having said all that, though, I do miss it, and would like to feel it’s still an option, if/when I do feel like a glass (or two!). I saw my oncology dr today, and asked him his opinion on the issue. He definitely wasn’t anti-alcohol! His summary was basically that it’s a trade off between potential risks and quality of life. As he is an expert in his field, I will absolutely take that! I do appreciate, though, that everyone’s situations are different, and that drinking may be far more detrimental for some than others. I’ve definitely considered quitting drinking entirely, but I’m not sure I’m that strong 
There are obviously multiple and profound benefits to not drinking, so if you do decide not to, definitely try to focus on those. Wishing you all the best x
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I am convinced alcohol is a significant factor in my cancer. I had stopped drinking before diagnosis but if I hadn’t then certainly would have now. There is extensive research which couldn’t be clearer that alcohol is a huge risk factor and I’m surprised how often this is brushed over. Nobody would ever suggest smoking in moderation. Each to their own, of course, but it’s a strong ‘no’ from me.
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Hi
I was a regular drinker of alcohol before my breast cancer diagnosis. I gave it up the day I was diagnosed after hearing that the link is evidential, and my Oncologist confirmed the risk of recurrence.
That was three and a half years ago now. Do I miss it- sometimes. Would I ever go back to drinking alcohol- definitely no not for me, I’d rather do without than take the risk, but it’s about personal choices.
I was a half to a bottle of wine on a Friday and a few pints of beer on a Saturday type of girl. Once I started chemo (post mastectomy) I totally stopped for just over 6 months. I had a drink around 4 weeks after radiotherapy ended.
Three years later, I can go 2-3 weeks without a drink. A bottle of wine lasts at least 2 weeks (just on a Saturday). I’ve had about 5 gins in 3 years. I do like a few pints on the odd occasion I go to a pub and can knock the cocktails back a couple of times a year when having a big night out. I feel sloshed after one drink these days.
I can take it or leave it TBH and have only had 1 hangover in 3 years - and I really meant never again. It lasted 3 days.
Wish me luck tomorrow - the girls are out partying for my birthday!
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You’re allowed to let your hair down and enjoy yourself. I haven’t drunk since Christmas as I found out I was pregnant. Then was diagnosed in March. I may have a drink after the baby is born before I restart chemo.
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I think at the end of the day it’s what you are comfortable with. I didn’t drink much before my diagnosis. Once a week I had a drink and then once in a while during the week. I am vegan, a runner, I have looked at all products I use on my body through the EWG web page for the last 25 years and it turned out I have BRCA2 mutation and got cancer. My approach has been I do all that I did before, my doctor said 2 glasses of wine a week and I basically went back to my 1 Prosecco a week and stop there. I guess for me the difference is that whereas before I might have wine with diner from time to time and not stop at 1 glass a week, now I do. Why might you ask? Well, because aside from the mutation I really had the most by the book non carcinogenic lifestyle and yet here I am. Science has shown that some people with the mutation don’t get cancer, but clearly I am not one of them 
So cutting back makes me feel more in control. That said if someone said having an extra glass makes you feel more in control, I would say go with it. In the end I do not think it’s going to be one extra glass that will be the decider. We live once, that must also count.
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Going through chemo is such an arduous journey, and it’s only natural to wonder about things like having a drink afterward. Honestly, I think it’s super important to be cautious. Your body has been through a lot, and alcohol might not be the best thing for it right now. It could interfere with your recovery or interact with any meds you’re still on. If you’re craving a drink, maybe it’s worth chatting with your doctor first to be on the safe side. And if you’re thinking about drinking more regularly, it might be a good idea to explore some support options, like alcohol addiction treatment at Abbeycare. They have resources to help you determine what’s best for your health moving forward.
I’m currently going through chemo and will then have radiotherapy; I’m not much of a drinker in any event, I can go months without touching a drop, but when treatment is over I have a holiday booked and I will 100% be having a cocktail or two when I’m away. In my current philosophy, I am feeling like I am going through all of this so that I will have a day where I am sipping a mojito on a sunny balcony. I will stick to moderation obviously but I kind of feel that I want to fill my life with as much ‘living’ as possible. Recurrence may or may not happen irrespective of what I do so I’ll be moderate and considerate, but I’ll still treat myself now and then.
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I’ve just had a lumpectomy and SNB last Friday.
I’m HER negative, and as strongly ER & PR positive as I possibly could be - 8/8 score for both. I’ve been on a combined contraceptive pill for 12 years.
I’m also pre-menopausal at 39.
Aside from any alcohol, I have a VERY active lifestyle - lots of walking/hiking and yoga, and I eat a really healthy diet, mostly fruit, vegetables, fish and dairy - the odd bits of white and red meat here and there. I’m muscularly strong, slight, and a very healthy weight, with a BMI of 20.
I was not a massive drinker before diagnosis, but mostly had a half bottle of red on a Friday and a few rum & gingers on a Saturday. Occasional binge on a night out.
Drank much more during student days and my 20s.
I stopped drinking completely when I was diagnosed - when I told my surgeon this, he shrugged and said in his opinion it was completely irrelevant. I asked about the research re: alcohol spiking oestrogen levels and this being a risk? He said there wasn’t any concrete evidence this was true and certainly nothing suggesting recurrence at a higher rate in those who drink in moderation. He would not be telling his patients that ‘normal’ drinking during their lifetime would have anything to do with them getting breast cancer, first time or as a recurrence.
I later asked my breast care nurse as I had read lots of things suggesting it was a risk? She also said there is ‘no reliable evidence of that’ and it wasn’t a problem.
I don’t want to drink at them moment as my body heals and gets rid of the swelling associated with surgery - alcohol is not conducive to that! But after I see my oncologist about further treatment, I don’t think I intend to give up entirely if they have the same opinion. Maybe a little less than before - naturally, I think you slow down with age and the inability to deal with feeling rough the next day - but I will likely still drink socially with family and friends, on holiday, & when I feel like it at the weekends.
This might be different for others - I’m awaiting genetic testing, but have no family history and am more than a little convinced that the contraceptive pill may be my culprit.
Thanks for that, very interesting.
I too am ER/PR 8 and also HER2 positive. I am much older than you (61). I haven’t been a regular drinker particularly and certainly as I have got older I drank less and less alcohol. But the thought of anything whilst I am having chemo turns my stomach! Just can’t face it. If all goes to plan, my chemo will finish at the end of November so I will allow myself a little something at Christmas 
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Really interested to read what your oncologist had to say on the alcohol issue !!!
My BC was triple neg and when I considered my risk factors, alcohol jumped out as my most likely !!! This has been a real bone of contention for me as now I’ve completed my surgery, chemo and radiotherapy and am happy to admit I love a drink or 6 
My oncologist just said when I asked him about the alcohol/oestrogen thing, “you can have a glass of wine” I didn’t like to say that some Saturday nights it might be a bottle !!!
I do appreciate that for overall general health too much alcohol can be detrimental, but I’m reluctant to give up anything else !!!
I feel BC has already taken too much of me and I’m not giving up anything else without a damned good reason xx
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