Having read at length the ‘reports’ that alcohol is a contributor to breast cancer, I still drink wine. Anyone else ignoring this warning?!!
I have read extensively that sufficient folate (preferably from food as opposed to folic acid supplement) cancels out or diminishes the risk. Anyone else aware of this. I am like a hamster on a wheel, blindly going on to nowhere. It would be so nice to hear from others in this ridiculous situation.
Thinking of you all and wishing you all that I wish myself. xx
I still enjoy a glass of wine in the evening with my dinner even though there has been reports of a link between alcohol and BC.
There have been some suggestions that alcohol raises the levels of oestrogen in the body and thus increases the risk of BC. As my BC was hormone negative, I figure this risk might not affect me as much as those diagnosed with hormone positive BC, although I could be wrong (wishful thinking on my part maybe !!!).
In her book re. BC, Susan Love suggests that increasing your intake of folic acid does negate against the effects of alcohol, although I’m not sure if this has been medically proven. My way of thinking is that a little of what you fancy does you good, but like everything else we enjoy, (cream cakes in my case), I guess it is best enjoyed in moderation.
While there is evidence that drinking may increase risk of breast cancer, this does not necessarily mean that your breast cancer was caused by drink. I don’t think there is any research which suggests that drinking after you’ve got breast acncer makes any difference to whether it recurs or not.
So if you enjoy a drink go for it. Banish guilt and enjoy.
best wishes
Jane
As someone who also enjoys wine, I endorse what Jane says about no conclusive evidence to suggest that drinking after you have had treatment will effect the chances of recurrence. Wine is just one risk factor and if taken into perspective, is not as great a risk as having no children or a small family or children later in life, or indeed having periods early, late menopause etc. I don’t think getting plastered regularly is a smart move either, but a nice glass of wine or two should be OK.
I am a bit sceptical about the interest at the moment about alcohol and breast cancer as the government are desperately trying to reduce drinking in everyone and are they using this as another way to convince people to stop drinking? Is this another “victim-blaming” campaign - ie you drink and have breast cancer, therefore it must be partially your fault you have BC. I bet they wouldn’t dare start a campaign encouraging women to have children lots of children early on in life to help reduce the risk of BC as this would have many ethical, social and financial implications, but would probably would have more of an impact on the incidence of BC than encouraging people to stop drinking.
On BBC this morning, they were reviewing the papers, and the Mail had an article regarding wine and BC, the presenter said he wouldnt even read it as it just seemed another scaremongering story.
I emailed into the DM thread about this asking them to please get the reporting right on this type of story. I was surprised when it got published!
Just had dinner and read the Mail with a glass of wine and you know what?
I am going to have another one!
Love Debsxxx
you go girl…yes
never liked wine much till I started chemo, then only had a glass at night sporadically
too much of any one thing without relenting will turn out to be bad for you
but I doubt highly that a glass of wine in the evening will hurt
while the pleasure of a lovely bit of wine might actually make you smile
no small feat during chemo…
Emily
xx
I only drink wine three or four times a year (only white, never had red) and got bc!
Nice to read this thread!
I enjoy a glass of white wine, in fact 2 or 3! The day this was announced my OH saw it on GMTV and then told me that I should watch it. I was annoyed to say the least. Whats the point in telling me now that I have BC that the fact that I have (and still do) drink wine might have led me to this place! Thanks a bunch!! I breast fed 3 kids, had my first at 20, started periods at 11… who knows what if any of the factors they mention added to/increased my risk/caused my BC.
Maybe because I am early on in the process and have a good prognosis (though I know thats no guarantee) I am not changing anything about my lifestyle right now and don’t need guilt on top of everything else I am feeling.
Sods law means that many people can lead extremely unhealthy lifestyles and live to a ripe old age (my Dad is likely to die eventually smoked and pickled!) and others can be as healthy as you like and keel over (a colleague of mine who regularly ran marathons, no smoker etc dropped dead at his pc halfway through our training whilst his wife was unpacking the shopping and leaving 2 small boys without a dad).
Sure, maybe once I am out the other side of active treatment I will sit down and decide to look at my lifestyle and maybe make some changes but it REALLY annoys me when announcements are made which take up 5 minutes of airtime before moving on to talking about the latest single from the latest boyband!!
(I am not a fan of the GMTV approach to reporting you may have guessed as there is SO much of the presenter’s personal opinion shown when they talk about something!)
I may however continue to be unhealthy and live a “dangerous” existence and live to a ripe old age (here’s hoping) or become a total health freak and run umpteen marathons for charity and get hit by a bus on my way home.
Rant over, sorry!
Hi
How I agree with you ostrich. I enjoy a glass ot two of red wine, have three kids all breast fed until at least six months if not longer, periods started at 11, on the pill till first kid at 25and on and on we go.
I really hate this time of year not just because it was around this time I was diagnosed but because my onc said at my first appointment this is the worst time of year to be diagnosed because every report on tv or in press is about breast cancer and some ridiculous piece of “research” conducted on a very small number of people.GMTV are amongst the worst with their totally scaremongering and sactimonious approach and I won’t mention anyone in particular but I think you can probably take an intelligent guess??
Rant over as well sorry!
Hi Suzy,
Glad to know others feel the same and yes I do know who you mean! I understand GMTV will have a new anchor woman soon, hooray!
I enjoy a glass of wine though I will admit that pre dx I used to enjoy a little too much. I have a glass with my evening meal, sometimes more but try to have a day or 2 off each week.
Gegarding GMTV its like the Daily mail on the TV . There is a whole thread on the soon to be departed anchor on a website called Digital Spy, 350 pages.
Maybe some of us feel we are on borrowed time depending on our prognosis so some wine is one of the few joys we have.
I personally just like having a glass of wine.
louise
Would anyone care to join me in a glass of wine - red, white, pink [sorry rose], don’t care what colour it is as long as its enjoyed.
Bottoms Up Ladies
i wouldnt have thought drinking was anything to do with my bc, because i dont really drink… im a bit like nana from the royle family… maybe just 1 at christmas, or at weddings lol
im sad arent i? lol
but still… enjoy your wine ladies! xxx
hi all
well my doc has explained that if the liver is constantly busy trying to get rid of toxins in the body caused by anything from alcohol to air freshener then it isn’t doing its job of clearing out oestregen and thats what can cause some BCs…also being overweight gives the body another place to store oestregen (in the fat cells) other than in the ovaries…
my doc also feels that once u have BC the most important factor in whether it returns or not is whether they got it all out in the first place…i would say that not drinking and healthy diet certainly helps to keep secondaries etc at bay but wouldn’t prevent them …
thats just my take on it…from the research i’ve done - alcohol and diet are v important unfort…after i was diagnosed i realised i had pretty much every risk factor except genes; too much drinking, not enough fruit and veg, too much meat and dairy, overweight, not enough exercise, smoking (altho BC is the one cancer that is not directly related to smoking but it can’t have helped) and no babies by age of 37…its funny how u just never think it will happen to u, esp at such a young age,but why not…can;t believe i was so ignorant
i look at my brother and his young girl friends now doing exactly what i did and they all think it won’t happen to them, i worry for them and wish they wd take notice of what happened to me…
jo
I had no hormones involved but was Her2+. I did a load of research on this and also asked a relative who is an oncologist about it. I found out that it’s caused by a growth hormone that should have switched off in the body at the age of 28, if you’re Her2+ it didn’t. It’s not known yet why it doesn’t switch off so I decided a long time ago not to beat myself up over it - for all I know it could have been there before I was born.
i have to say ladies that i too enjoy a drink but not wine i like a couple of cans of lager a week is this bad … i hope not coz i dont smoke or go out even just enjoy socialising at home to give up my lager would be a sin its the only thing i look forward to second to my grand children my cancer was hormone positive and now ive had my ovaries killed off i dont have any
jackie xx
I too have a problem with wine, I love it so much!! I enjoyed wine before BC and I still enjoy a glass or two of an evening. However, at the age of 46 I am beginning to put on weight much more easily than before and therefore I am going to limit my wine to Friday and Saturday nights only. The guilt I feel when I drink wine is so strong as I have read that there may be a link, however I have also read many other possible links, too many to mention. I honestly believe that the causes are still unknown and they have to justify their money in researching and this is why we have articles nearly every day in the news. Life seems to be so uncertain and short, is it worth stopping things that we enjoy?
Half way through a glass of wine I pause and think of my problems. They have all disappeared! Now that is an achievement. As for champagne, the effect is even better. From what I have read, a glass of wine a night is ok.