A column by Melinda Beck in the November 1, 2011 Wall Street Journal gets right to the point: Regular drinking, even just two drinks a day, raises the risk of many types of cancer, including breast cancer.
The statistics she cites are sobering:
- Men who drink three or more drinks a day have a 41% higher risk of dying of cancer.
- Women who drink two or more drinks a day have a 20% higher risk of dying of cancer.
- Women who have three drinks a week have a 15% higher risk of breast cancer.
- Teen and tween girls aged 9 to 15 who drink three to five drinks a week have three times the risk of developing benign breast lumps. (Certain categories of non-cancerous breast lumps are associated with a higher risk of breast cancer later in life.)
- Experts estimate that the risk of breast cancer goes up another 10% for each additional drink women regularly have each day.
These numbers are from a study published in the November 2011 issue of the American Journal of Epidemiology that looked at more than 320,000 people who responded to government surveys, so the evidence is compelling. Another large study (published in the November 2, 2011 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association) that looked at more than 105,000 women enrolled in the Nurses’ Health Study reached the same conclusion: regular drinking — even as little as two or three drinks a week — raises breast cancer risk. Of note: these are not studies of women who’ve had breast cancer — most of the women in these studies didn’t have breast cancer.
The studies show that not everyone who drinks regularly gets cancer and not everyone who gets cancer drinks — only 3.5% of deaths from cancer worldwide are because of alcohol. BUT — and this is a big but — experts estimate that 90% of those deaths in men could be avoided if they limited themselves to only two drinks a day and 50% of the deaths in women could be avoided if they had only one drink a day.
We also know that a drink now and then helps lower the risk of heart disease and stroke. But the key here is drinking in MODERATION. This doesn’t mean a drink every day or a drink every other day. It means just what it says — a drink now and then.
So how does all this affect you?
The bottom line is that regularly drinking alcohol can harm the health of both men and women, even if you don’t binge drink or get drunk. All types of alcohol count. One drink is equal to 12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces of wine, or 1.5 ounces of hard liquor. If you want to do everything you can to lower your risk of breast cancer, try to have no more than two drinks a week. And if you want to help your family lower their risk of several cancers, ask them to do the same.
This appears to be true whether you want to lower your risk of a first-time breast cancer or lower your risk of a recurrence. A 2009 study found that drinking even a few alcoholic beverages per week increased the risk of recurrence in women who’d been diagnosed with early-stage disease.
This reality check about alcohol limitation is a real bummer for me and for many of you. I love wine and great cocktail (a mojito is my favorite). Since my diagnosis, I’ve pretty much eliminated alcohol from my life. It’s hard. It’s very hard, especially if you’re the only one making changes. Going to a party is not as much fun and you can feel left out when everyone else is partying it up and acting very happy. But if your whole family makes the change, it’s a little easier. You can support each other when you’re out to dinner or at a party with friends. Also, limited alcohol pays off in many other ways. By drinking less, you’re reducing the calories from the alcohol and all the extra rich foods you tend to wolf down starting halfway through the first glass of wine. Plus, you tend to think, speak (including not saying something you’ll regret later), move, sleep, drive and multitask much better without the influence of alcohol.
For most of us, drinking is social. But cutting back on alcohol doesn’t mean cutting back on seeing your friends and family. If you’re not sure if you can go to an event and not have a drink, keep your health in mind. Remember that you’re keeping your risk of breast and other cancers as low as possible.
You can also try my trick. I like to hold a glass at parties (it gives me something to do with my hands and keeps them away from all the sugary treats), plus it makes me feel like one of the gang because just about everyone else has a glass. I’ve found that asking for club soda or seltzer and a splash of cranberry juice with a wedge of lime is a foolproof drink. Just about everyone has it, it’s refreshing, and it keeps me hydrated. And the bubbles and cranberry juice make it more festive than plain water. A Virgin Mary — that is, just Bloody Mary Mix without the vodka — is another good solution (plus tomato juice is food for you). For more ideas, visit the TPLG column Breast Cancer and Alcohol: Why and How to Make a Toast.
Are you cutting back on alcohol? Do you have a plan for when you go out? Let us know.
[...] See the article here: Alcohol and Cancer: You Can't Drink to Your Health « Think Pink … [...]
This is a hard one for me because I really enjoy a glass of wine in the evening. I have
never been a heavy drinker but have enjoyed my relaxing glass after dinner. I read one of
your blogs that hit home…..how you worked long hours and looked forward to wine and cheese
in the evening. I can so relate after working a 12 hour shift! Can I ask what you substitute
for the wine now?
Hello ktn! Very good question – and, since you asked, I wrote a column about my evening relaxation substitutes! The column will run next week – just in time for the celebrations (and, let’s face it, the stress) of the holiday season.
Thank you for reading and for your feedback!
Thank you, Dr. Weiss, for this wrap up. But I have a question. I was never a regular drinker before diagnosis. I was a sporadic, out-with-friends and vacation drinker. So I could go a month or two not having any alcohol, then go out and share a bottle of wine or have 2-3 beers, then again not drink for a while. On vacation, because of where I go, I tended to have wine or beer with every dinner. But that was just for 10 days or something. My question is this. Suppose we have no desire to have one tiny drink every day. Is there the same or greater risk from every once in a while, say once a month or over a week of vacation, drinking 2-3 drinks? I never see these risks presented this way. It’s always couched in terms of daily drinking, or no drinking at all. What about those of us who drink rarely, but would not just have one drink on the occasions we indulge?
Hi cary1, that’s a great question. At least one of the two recent papers that showed the disappointing news — that the more you drink, the higher the risk and it starts to really add up with more than 2 drinks/week — also looked at patterns of use: drinking every day vs. binges here and there. It turns out that it’s a cumulative risk, going along with the more booze the more risk. Thus binge drinking counts too, even if there are times of no booze in between.
So, it’s best to stick to 2 or fewer, but use your best judgment for the special times in your life if you want wiggle room.
Recently I’ve been working harder at selecting the times when to use my alcohol rations most wisely while still sticking to 2 or fewer per week. I’m triaging per below:
If it’s a work function, no drinking. And I won’t need to worry about driving home.
If I’m out on the occasional romantic evening — dinner and a show/movie — yes to a drink.
Thirsty, drink water.
Hungry, eat something.
High school reunion, have a drink.
Seeing an old boyfriend when looking hot and he looks not-so-good, who needs a drink — you already hit the jackpot!
Can you comment on the NA beers such as O’douls? While they may have a very minute amount of alcohol in them, someone mentioned that she thought she read something them having phytoestrogens. She said if this is the case it would not be recommended for those with er+ breast cancer either. I have no clue and am hoping that it doesn’t have anything bad in it as that has become my drink dujour since ER+PR+ BC.
Thank you.
Hi Dr. Weiss,
How would I go about discovering what the actual amount (%) of risk I am facing, if I decide to have 3-5 drinks in a week. Similar to Cary1′s question above, this wouldn’t be a regular amount for me but there are times over the summer holidays where I would really like to make an informed decision about the risk I am taking by having 3-5 drinks in a week. Is it 10% increased chance on the already low % chance of recurrence I face or is it 30% chance? If the chance is 10% is that an absolute 10% or 10% against the existing 10% chance I already have of recurrence? Sorry, I’ve never been good at stats!
Additionally, with the newest research that came out this February have you rethought any of this? Thanks so much Dr. Weiss, I hope you’re doing well.
Sweeney
Thank you for the comments!
2FriedEggs: While I haven’t heard about nonalcoholic beer containing phytoestrogens, we do know that plants can make things that have a little hormonal activity (isoflavones in soy, phytoestrogens in the hull of flax seeds, etc.). So phytoestrogens are actually pretty common, but in these cases they are also likely to be barely active. It’s alcohol and calories that are the most important, so it’s great that you’re not drinking the alcohol!
sweeney: The studies we’ve talked about so far looked at reducing the risk of a first breast cancer. Recurrence is a different story. In a 2010 study, it was shown that women who’d already been diagnosed with breast cancer and consumed three or more drinks a week had a 35% increase in the risk of recurrence. This is about as precise as we can get right now, but it’s enough to show that there is a significant risk. I would STRONGLY advise women who’ve had breast cancer to stick to fewer than three drinks per week. For special holiday and birthday weeks, the limit can be stretched to 5 – just remember to promptly return to the “fewer than three” rule after that. Remember: one drink = 12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces of wine, or 1.5 ounces of hard liquor.