Linda Nolan's New Business
- Remarkable Irish singer Linda Nolan is battling breast cancer, and just launched a new business: Selling gin.
- Outlook and humor matter. The singer told The Mirror, “Some of my tablets say avoid alcohol, and I do avoid it – but it just bumps into me every now and again…”
- Nolan is fighting breast cancer which she has said is incurable.
- Breast cancer risk factors include genetic mutations such as the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, as well as how much alcohol you drink, your weight, and diet.
Breast Cancer Risk Factors
Breast cancer risk factors include genetics, such as having the BRCA1 or BRC2 gene mutation, which elevates a person’s risk for developing breast or ovarian cancer. Dr. Rebecca Arend of the University of Alabama-Birmingham, previously told SurvivorNet, “BRCA is actually two genes (BRCA1 and BRCA2), and each protein works as tumor suppressors. They help repair damaged DNA and are important for ensuring the stability of each cell's genetic material.” Oncologists say it is important to know that breast cancer can be caused by other genetic mutations, some of which are less well known, or have received less attention from researchers. Related: What Genetic Testing Can Reveal About Ovarian Cancer“When either of these genes is altered, that mutation can mean that its protein product does not function properly, or that damaged DNA may not be repaired correctly. These inherited mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2 can increase the risk of female breast and ovarian cancers, and have also been associated with increased risks for several other cancers,” she said.
Related: What is a BRCA Mutation?
In addition to genetic factors, lifestyle factors can also increase the risk of developing breast cancer. Studies have shown that there’s a direct correlation between alcohol consumption and breast cancer risk. Dr. Elizabeth Comen, a Medical Oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering, said in an earlier interview, "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."
Dr. Comen said, “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."
Alcohol Can Increase the Risk of Developing Breast Cancer
Keeping a Positive Attitude Through Cancer
While faced with a difficult diagnosis, Nolan is keeping her spirits up by engaging with life. Experts have said that having an optimistic attitude, as the singer does, may improve the prognosis of someone battling cancer. In an earlier interview, Dr. Zuri Murrell, a colorectal surgeon at Cedars-Sinai, said, "My patients who thrive, even with stage 4 cancer, from the time that they, about a month after they're diagnosed, I kind of am pretty good at seeing who is going to be OK.”
Related: A Major Step in the Cancer Journey: Learning to Deal With Vulnerability
“Now doesn't that mean I'm good at saying that the cancer won't grow. But I'm pretty good at telling what kind of patient are going to still have this attitude and probably going to live the longest, even with bad, bad disease. And those are patients who, they have gratitude in life."
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