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how about drinking?

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Comments

  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Member Posts: 47
    edited May 2006
    bach,

    Happy Birthday !

    toasting you right now !
  • bach
    bach Member Posts: 3
    edited May 2006
    Thank you.

    I had a couple of glasses last night and a delicious meal followed by a splendid dessert. I don't think I have ever enjoyed a meal so much in all my life. I was only saying earlier in the day how much of a chore it is having to eat and certainly didn't think I could stomach wine. I know many people are having a really bad time with chemo but I seem to be ok after about 4 or 5 days...I've only had one treatment (A/C) so far - does anyone know if it will it get worse for me?

    It is sad reading that drinking is especially bad for those of us who are er+. I have been what the medical field would consider a heavy drinker. I won't give up entirely but I guess I should learn to do it in "moderation"...it will be worth it in many ways.

    Nicole
  • jaybird627
    jaybird627 Member Posts: 1,227
    edited May 2006
    Nicole,

    Happy Birthday! Hope it was a good one.

    I don't remember if A/C got worse but just knowing what you're in for each time makes it seem worse I think. I found that after day 5 or 6 I was feeling almost 'normal' then felt good for a week then it started all over again. My nurses were great with the count (one down, halfway done, etc.) and I just endured like a trooper as they say.

    I was initially upset to have to give up my mostly-every-night glass or two of wine but they said moderation (one) was okay. Well, no matter what I drank it didn't taste good (and I tried!) so I just gave up alcohol until my taste buds got back to normal which was sometime during rads.

    My BC was hereditary so there's no way I'm giving up my wine or anything else. It's my choice and no one should judge me either way. I do not consume high fructose corn syrup or hydrogenated oils which I believe will kill me a hell of a lot sooner than alcohol so that's my ecxcuse! I say live your life YOUR way and unless you have a totally unhealthy lifestyle then you're fine. JMO.......

    Cheers!
    Janis L
  • teresa817
    teresa817 Member Posts: 1
    edited May 2006

    I did not drink during chemo because I felt just a little sick most of the time. when I felt well I did take a few sips here and there but was very cautious not to get drunk.I am over that now and I enjoy my martini(s) on the weekends just like before BC. I am nor er/pr+. My cancer seems to be genetic (brca1).

  • pdgd
    pdgd Member Posts: 18
    edited May 2006

    I'm so glad I found this thread! I agree... why DOES alcohol get such a bad rap! And I live in UT so there is added guilt! I read that folic acid reduces whatever increased risk there is from alcohol so I'm taking it! And (lol!) my sister called all excited because she had read about that too and wanted me to know so I wouldn't have to quit my wine habit!!! Here's to all of you!! Pam

  • Drea
    Drea Member Posts: 12
    edited May 2006
    This is too funny. I'm new here, and I thought this was going to be a thread about the dangers of alcohol! The truth is I did greatly reduce my drinking, to almost nothing, not long after learning about my BRCA2 mutation, 5 years ago. I had read studies showing that it increased bc risk, especially in women with family hx, etc. and since I didn't want to do prophylactic surgery yet (I was 29 then), I felt I had to do everything possible to lower the burden on my defective BRCA2 gene.

    I was dx'd with DCIS this past January at age 34. I got the call confirming the diagnosis on a Friday morning just before I went to work (I work evenings). When I got home, my partner (knowing I was stressed) offered me a beer. I immediately said, "Sure! What's it going to do -- give me cancer!?!?" I have been very fortunate in that I don't need chemo, so the only thing cramping my drinking since my dx was the period of heavy pain meds following my bilateral mastectomies. Since then I have been indulging whenever I care to. Even went out and bought some $$$ tequila and Cointreau and have been working on perfecting a margarita recipe!

    Best,
    Drea
  • Stacysinger
    Stacysinger Member Posts: 1
    edited May 2006
    drea,
    This is my first post. I love Margarita's! I also love beer. I cut way back after my diagnosis. I usually just drink some on the weekends now. I guess you can't quit everything that you enjoy. I also say the same thing that you do sometimes (It might give me cancer!) You never know what is good or bad for you. We might as well enjoy this life while we are here.

    Stacy
  • sheila123
    sheila123 Member Posts: 1
    edited May 2006
    I enjoyed my wine before BC, during treatment and since, I never one time thought it was beneficial to my health but I love my glass or two and will continue to. I am a six year survivior and isn't wine a food group??!!

    I opened a thread on this a few years ago and got serious advice re the dangers of alcohol from many sources, but I had a huge following from many European BC survivors - they drink and smoke and they also have BC. We aren't going to get perfect because we were diagnosed with BC. We are just all trying to get along and everything that helps is cool.

    I love you all. I always wanted to start a thread for sinners!!!
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Member Posts: 47
    edited May 2006
    well, if your hormone positive........

    meat
    fish
    dairy
    cheese
    booze
    smoking

    geezzzzzzzzzz

    and the water is full of chemicls

    sex?


    sex and spring water?


    :-)
  • jaybird627
    jaybird627 Member Posts: 1,227
    edited May 2006
    Um, I think sex can be bad for you, too. Diseases. And I'd choose distilled water over spring water as who knows which 'spring' it came from asn distilled water is actually boiled. Just my three cents as usual.

    (I'm not about to give up sex though as I get it so infrequently anyway)

    Janis L
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Member Posts: 2,728
    edited May 2006
    You wont take my Pinot Grigio away without a fight.

    Nickii
  • pdgd
    pdgd Member Posts: 18
    edited May 2006
    Rhymee, lol!! Can we have bread and tap water?? Pam
  • JanieMarie
    JanieMarie Member Posts: 25
    edited May 2006
    Hi Vicki!

    Welcome to the drinking thread! It does help to know you're not alone when making the decision "to have a drink or not." I just can't pass up a good wine or a beer with my carcinogenic hot dog at a baseball game! I eat a lot of other good foods most of the time, you know the green veggies, cranberries, nuts, etc,...but those two things get me everytime!

    Janie
  • karen1245
    karen1245 Member Posts: 1
    edited May 2006

    Thanks for this thread... I was wondering about how to ask the oncol without seeming like a lush or anything, but my b/f's father makes the best homemade italian red wine ever - it's the only one that doesn't give me migraines and I was dreading having to turn it down when we visited!

  • inspiewriter
    inspiewriter Member Posts: 54
    edited May 2006
    Quote:

    Thanks for this thread... I was wondering about how to ask the oncol without seeming like a lush or anything, !



    My onc insists there is no proven evidence of a link between alcohol and bc.
  • shorfi
    shorfi Member Posts: 437
    edited May 2006
    Prior to BC, I occasionally indulged in Jack Daniels, straight up...socially. For some reason now, I can't stand the thought of it.

    My ex-husband introduced me to Remy Martin and I like that. But if I want to drink, I really like a nice Chablis. I also don't mind Molson's beer...with lots of ice and lemon.
  • slanderson
    slanderson Member Posts: 14
    edited May 2006
    Exactly, I have to eat a low-low fat diet, tons of vegetables, have terrible hot flashes, sex when I can get far enough into denial about what my body looks like now AND no wine either? I don't think so.

    Shannon
  • anitasid
    anitasid Member Posts: 1
    edited May 2006
    I think that not much is known and/or proven about the association between drinking and BC. And Im a scientist.:-)

    For a while there, I was CONVINCED that I had BC due to drinking. Then a friend [from France, where drinking is totally normal] told me "Anita, your BC is a DISEASE. Its NOT a reflection on your lifestyle. And its NOT a form of punishment".

    I now believe that. I think that we are exposed to so many toxins everywhere, who is to say what is harmful and what is not???

    THINK about it: we are exposed to incredible levels of stress; toxic fumes from gasoline; chemicals in our carpets; chemicals in new cars [new car smell????!! ALL carcinogenic!!]; chemicals in every single thing we injest...meats and dairy products....did you know just how much estrogen they inject in cows???? While we were eating yoghurt and cottage cheese to stay healthy, we were merely adding estrogen to our bodies!!!!!

    Yes, its fashionable to blame alcohol for everything in our SICK, right-wing society....!!!! Yet, everything else in our lives is TERRIBLY horrible and everything we injest and/or are exposed to will give us BC at rates a million times higher than alcohol. I guess it boils down to the lobbyists....
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 282
    edited May 2006

    I really enjoyed your post Anita. I too thought that my drinking was part of the reason (a large part) of why I got bc. But I like what your friend in France had to say. It is a disease and not a reflection of a lifestyle. I think the diet in France/Italy/Greece and other European countries is different to ours. And your comment about carcinogens in the air, not to mention the things that are injected into animals....I watched a good documentary on the CBC by a reporter who is also coping with bc and from the research she's done it's evident that there are so many unknowns and so much in the air, the things we use every day and when all is said and done..there is no definitive answer as to "why" this woman and not that woman. Having said that, I expect I'll enjoy that next glass of wine much more than I have been since being dx'd a year ago!!

  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 282
    edited May 2006

    Shorbr, I've never heard of putting ice and lemon in my Molson's...and I don't think any of my friends has ever done that either...but hey why not...I put a slice of lime in my Corona. I'm going to give it a try!!

  • slanderson
    slanderson Member Posts: 14
    edited May 2006
    right, and talk about insidious. I have been reading lately about chlorine in our water and what it really does to us. I have gone to drinking and cooking with bottled water only and have gotten a filter for the shower so as not to breathe it in.

    Shannon
  • pdgd
    pdgd Member Posts: 18
    edited May 2006
    Anita, thanks. You make a lot of sense. I live in UT and although I LOVE it here, after a while, the guilt creeps in. I will not give up the wine, I just don't want to spend the rest of my life feeling worried every night when I'm drinking it!!! Pam
  • bach
    bach Member Posts: 3
    edited May 2006
    Well I am now feeling nearly normal except for a few coldsores and a couple of ulcers in my mouth. I haven't had a drink since my birthday last Friday. This morning I decided I am going to throw a party after my next lot of chemo. Seems strange to do this during treatment but I'll only have two glasses and enjoy them probably more than ever. I'm so glad to have found this site, it helps me feel good and not guilty about wanting to live as if I don't have cancer. Cheers and thank you to you all...

    Nicole
  • Sierra
    Sierra Member Posts: 180
    edited May 2006
    Hello to all Listening in:

    I do take the FOLATE
    for sure

    Myself, I have a bit of
    red, preferably Cabernet
    Blass (Australian) love it
    or Merlot

    dont drink hard liquor

    No, Im not giving it up
    nor am I giving up my
    sweets
    I also have them the odd time
    (oooo bad)) (in moderation)

    Life is meant to be lived
    you could eliminate all of this
    and still, not fare well

    One of my mentors, Dr. Bernie
    told me: to eat my chocolate cake

    Enjoy.. and it sure looks like you all
    do.

    Oopps.. on a real hot day
    in summer, I might have
    a beer, Corona ..

    er-pr- Grade 3
    (six years out
    and v. blessed)

    Hugs
  • KPM
    KPM Member Posts: 1
    edited May 2006
    Good morning ladies -- I love this thread. My boss is throwing a bar crawling celebration for me (made it through chemo) next Friday night. It will start at his place where he's making mohitos and margaritas for a bunch of us from work, then on to his favorite watering holes in D.C. I can't wait! I'm in radiation now, and my rad. onc says no problem with moderate drinking. BC has cost me one breast, 9 lymph nodes, my hair, my eyelashes, most of my brows; has given me lymphedema, weight gain, and difficulty sleeping through the night -- I'll be d***ed if it's going to keep me from a drink when I want one!

    Cheers,

    Kathy
  • Sierra
    Sierra Member Posts: 180
    edited May 2006
    Hi Kathy:

    just saw this

    CONGRATS TO YOU!

    Have a ball!
    I did not drink on TX
    but that was my choice

    ENJOY

    AHH I do love a margarita..

    Hugs
  • lkc
    lkc Member Posts: 182
    edited May 2006
    Hi Fellow drinkers,
    Can I join? I am happily drinking my red wine again. I only gave it up during chemo because I couldn't taste it.
    What else could I possibly drink when I have dinner?
    I toast all of you lovely ladies.

    Linda
  • 2up
    2up Member Posts: 944
    edited May 2006

    canadian beer drinkin girl here! "cheers"!

  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Member Posts: 2,728
    edited May 2006
    Aglass of Pino Grigio on a hot summer day. Oh my.

    Nickii
  • Rosemary44
    Rosemary44 Member Posts: 272
    edited May 2006
    Shel38,

    Could you do me a favor? Would you please have a glass of Kilkenny for me? Then tell me all about it. They don't sell it here, just Bass is allowed in. What is that about?

    I even called the distributor. I'll either have to go to Canada or Ireland for a nice tall cold one...tall. Oh, and hops are very good for us.

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