Just wondered if anyone else has seen the article in today’s Mail with the heading “Two glasses of wine a day increases BC risk by 50%”. Apparently, a new study of almost 185,000 women found that even moderate drinking significantly incresases the risk of the disease. If this study is proven legitimate, it certainly seems like sod’s law that even enjoying a glass of wine in the evening can mean that you are putting your health at risk. What does everyone else think? Do you really think there is a link between alcohol and BC? I like to have a glass of wine (small measure) in the evening with my dinner, but wouldn’t like to think that I could be increasing my chances of a recurrence by 50%.
Hi
I am a wine drinker too but only at weekends. I heard it on the news today too but it was mentioned about 4 weeks ago again on the news. I had just been dx then and felt like I had signed my own fate to BC just because I like a drink!
There is a link to everything we drink/eat in this world and if we took it all to heart I’m afraid life would be cr*p!
Enjoy a little bit of what you fancy and take no notice!
Anita
Hmmm, I wouldn’t place much reliance on what the tabloids report as medical “fact”. It was the newspapers who scaremongered so many parents against the MMR vaccine which is now costing lives when the original “facts” were based on a dodgy doctor with a vested financial interest. I think the papers will put a headline before the true and proper facts. I have a glass or two of wine most nights and don’t believe that I am in any way to blame for breast cancer at 35
Well, it has made me think! I’ve been drinking a glass or two of red wine with dinner for years, but had steadily increased my intake before I was diagnosed…(you know how it is, a little top up here and there)… so probably went quite a bit over the recommended 14 units a week. I’ve also noticed that a lot of ladies on here mention enjoying a tipple.
I wonder how many of us on here have bc but are teetotal?
xxx
I think that so much of this research is unfounded or badly designed research.
I’m almost teetotal, a glass or two at weddings and Christmas, but otherwise very little
I’ll be interested to hear the foundation for their research, and whether any other research supports it.
I don’t like wine but get through a bottle of Baileys over Christmas and New Year, and another around my birthday in June. Guess that’s not a lot. If we cut out everything the media has ever reported as being carcinogenic would there be anything left? There’s a desperate desire to find something to point the finger of blame at, but it’s all so speculative… the papers jump on anything remotely newsworthy, and that doesn’t always mean it’s based on sound, proven evidence, researched long-term, on women as opposed to laboratory rodents, whose diets, lifestyle choices, access to ‘safe’ pills and potions and over-the-counter remedies for anything and everything, and exposure to environmental pollution couldn’t be more different from ours.
I am teetotal and was diagnosed with breast cancer almost five years ago aged 42.
My mother was also teetotal and was diagnosed with breast cancer aged 59…
I am sure there are more of us out there.
What they never bother to tell you in these articles is the type of breast cancer they are referring to. Apparently the link with alcohol is to do with oestrogen positive cancers and it’s to do with alcohol making women put weight on, thus more oestrogen is produced. An oncologist relative of mines told me last year they have known about this link for a long time. However, I have always enjoyed wine, but my cancer was Her 2 +. The DM is always printing scare stories about BC (in fact it’s pretty notorious for it). I wouldn’t pay too much attention, just listen to your oncologists.
oh there are more RMW! Another teetotaller here, and dx 18 years ago age 45, but am not oestrogen positive.
dawnhc
oh goodie im PR+ can i get drunk every night now?
My oncologist told me red wine is good for me.
I think the Daily Mail has a particularly negative attitude to women and if there is a way to make us feel guilty or responsible for something they will take it. "Do you work? You’re a bad mother. Do you not work? You’re a scrounger. Are you overweight? you deserve to be ill. Are you too thin? You deserve to be ill. Do you drink? You’ve given yourself cancer.
I think as with everything around diet and breast cancer all any of us can do is make decisions we are comfortable with in terms of our health, our worries and our quality of life and make this as well informed as we can. But I think it’s so important to enjoy life, not blame ourselves and give ourselves a break. Good grief, we’ve had enough to deal with!!!
xx
I am 36 with an oestrogen and progesterone positive cancer nd have drunk a lot of wine over the past 18 years … I have been beating myself up about having given myself cancer by drinking wine. Though I am so stressed I cannot see myself going teetotal anytime soon.
Let’s remember though that the Daily Mail regulary tells us the children of single mothers are likely to have learning difficulties and become delinquent … likewise the children of working mothers … so as a working single mother I should be more anxious about my 9 year old going off the rails than guilty about the large glass of white wine I had last night.
Thankyou everyone who has commented so far, I feel better already!
Irina x
Just seen this and I have to say - in addition to disbelieving most things the papers say about increasing your risk of bc - remember that even in the Mail, it says you are increasing your risk BY 50%, not TO 50% - big difference. And unless I see it was a serious well designed study, I don’t believe it anyway - scary headlines sell papers, is all.
Lyn
You know… I only ever glance at the mail (or any of the tabloids) on those rare occasions I’m down the pub and want a laugh now. We have to remind ourselves that they’re tabloid rags, something in New scientist would have my attention but anything in the tabloids I wouldn’t take too seriously, not worth the mental bother (brain time precious now I’m half way through chemo, no time for that kind of rubbish now 
I asked my surgeon (who i was told happens to be the top breast surgeon in my area) what causes breast cancer and he said - quote- “We don’t know”.
i won’t stop drinking alcohol or eating certain foods because they might cause cancer. we are all told by certain people that this or that causes cancer then next thing they tell us is that its good for us. i beleive that everything in moderation is ok. i know someone who was tee total and still got breast cancer. i want to live my life to the full and not in fear off certain foods and drinks that may or may not contribute to any type of cancer. like i said, everything in moderation and enjoy life, facing and fighting bc has taught me alot of things about myself, other people and life. so i’ll raise a glass and wish the very best to all of you. x
How do they know what causes breast cancer, if you research it says your chances are increased if you:
drink wine
overweight
had children late in life or no kids
didnt breast feed
large breasts
etc etc
how dooes research prove these facts when not everyone who has breast cancer is surveyed, I have never been asked about kids, if I drink, if I breast fed etc etc
In Susan Love’s breast book alcohol consumption is listed as one of the risk factors for breast cancer. It does state that alcohol has received less attention in relation to it being a risk factor despite the data being more solid. Apparently " a number of studies suggest that drinking alcoholic beverages, even in moderate amounts, may increase your risk of breast cancer".
“An analysis of six prospective studies found an increasing risk of breast cancer as larger amounts of alcohol are drunk. as your consumption rises, so does your risk”.
Another large study found there was no link between what you drank in your distant past and that “While recent consumption of three or more drinks per day was associated with a doubling of the risk, what you drank between 16 and 29 had little effect”. It states that the explanation for this is that consumption of 2 alcoholic drinks a day increased estrogen in the blood of pre-menopausal women while 1 alcoholic drink acutely increased esrogen levels in postmenopausal women.
It does go on to say that whether to stop drinking or not is one of the decisions we all have to make on adequate information and that although the risk increase isn’t great, it definitely exists.
Dbusby - When I went into hospital for my pre-op screening before surgery the standard questions for admittance to an NHS hospital did include questions on my alcohol consumption in addition to smoking, weight and general health stuff so maybe they use this information to feed into studies as well as for making sure we are fit to undergo the op?
I have drunk very little alcohol for years because I had very bad migraines. However, I was definitely overweight and my cancer was very strongly oestrogen positive. I weigh a lot less now and take a lot more exercise and I feel better for it. It’s possibly a pity I didn’t do this years ago, but who knows??
And while on chemo and ever since I have had very few migraines - but I wouldn’t recommend having BC to other migraine sufferers as a way of reducing their headaches!
Anne
If alochol makes us happy and eases our daily path then that’s no bad thing. Everything done in the past is untouchable so there’s no point in beating ourselves up over ‘have I drunk too much’ etc.
If we are participating on these forums, then we all know what tough times we’ve had to deal with.
Dawnflower