Holiday Parties and Alcohol Consumption
- According to a survey conducted by SurvivorNet, most women are not aware that alcohol consumption is linked to an increased risk of developing breast cancer.
- On top of that, many women say that they are drinking more since the start of the pandemic. 68% of women say that they would drink less or stop all together if they knew the connection between alcohol and cancer.
- With both the stress and the celebration of the holidays fast approaching, doctors recommend that we strive for moderation in our alcohol intake.
According to a SurvivorNet survey, many women have reported increasing their alcohol intake over the course of the pandemic. This is not necessarily surprising, but another fact gives us added reason to worry about this uptick: almost 70% of the women surveyed said that they were not aware of an association between drinking alcohol and an increased risk of breast cancer.
Read MoreAlthough 37% of the women surveyed said that they had increased their alcohol consumption over the course of the pandemic, 69% said they were unaware that drinking increases breast cancer risk. 68% of women surveyed said that they would drink less, or stop completely, if they knew that alcohol inflated their cancer risk.
37% of women also reported that they anticipate drinking more as the holidays approach. We don't know if that drinking is celebratory or brought on by stress, but given the year we are all having, our guess is it's a little of everything.
Drinking and Stress
Dr. Comen suggests that women who are feeling stressed and turning to alcohol might want to examine their motivations. "I would say if you're worried about it, that's good because you're thinking about how to take your health more seriously. It's the same with food why are you reaching for the bottle? Are you doing it with your family? Are you doing it with yourself? Think about the motivation behind it. Particularly if you've increased your drinking. Instead of having two glasses of wine, just have one. Set realistic limits [for yourself]."
"I say, 'Let's think about how we can manage your stress better,’" says Dr. Comen. "'What's really stressing you out? And are there other ways to cope with that anxiety? Can we get you to take a walk and breathing fresh air? Can we delegate the many responsibilities that may be weighing you down?’"
Approaching the holiday season in the midst of a pandemic, these are important questions for us all to be asking ourselves.
“I got a real big case of the f**k its” — Jackie Kaczynski on relapsing, and finding the strength and will to get sober again on Thanksgiving weekend.
Alcohol & Breast Cancer
This year, the American Cancer Society (ACS) updated its recommendations when it comes to alcohol consumption. "Alcohol use is one of the most important preventable risk factors for cancer, along with tobacco use and excess body weight. Alcohol use accounts for about 6% of all cancers and 4% of all cancer deaths in the United States. Yet many people don't know about the link between alcohol use and cancer," the ACS said.
There is a clear link between alcohol consumption and breast cancer risk, as well as risk for other cancers. In November 2017, the American Society of Clinical Oncology published a statement citing evidence that links alcohol to cancer. The statement called for reduced alcohol consumption as a way to cut people's cancer risk.
In an earlier interview, Dr. Comen said that "One of the things that we know [due to the statement from ASCO], is that actually, alcohol does increase the risk of breast cancer. It doesn't dramatically increase the risk of breast cancer, but with every drink, there is a linear response."
"What that means is a linear response to risk, meaning that each drink increases a woman's risk for breast cancer. So binge drinking, it's not good for anybody," she said. "And it's also not good for a woman's increased risk of breast cancer. And so patients ask me this all the time well, how much can I drink? If you want to have absolutely no risk from alcohol, then don't drink at all. But probably having less than four glasses a week of alcohol is probably OK."
She isn't telling us to never take a drink, instead, Dr. Comen tells patients to listen to their gut, and go with their comfort level. "I think we're learning every day about what the contribution of alcohol may be to cancer. And while we know that a lot isn't good, I don't necessarily tell patients, you can't ever drink. But I do have some patients who say, I am so terrified that every time I take a drink of alcohol that I'm going to get breast cancer. Well, don't drink alcohol. If you're binge drinking, you are increasing your risk of breast cancer."
Contributing: SurvivorNet staff
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