The Link Between Alcohol and Hormone Receptor Positive Breast Cancer

This picture was taken at a wine tasting just over a year ago, the same day I had a mammogram and ultrasound to investigate the lump I had found under my arm a few weeks earlier.  That day, the radiologist told me that he did not see anything suspicious on the mammogram, only a benign looking cyst.  But an ultrasound of the lump looked like an abnormal lymph node.  It was clear to me that he was concerned.  He actually said the words,"Breast Cancer" and "Mastectomy" to me.  He recommended having an excisional biopsy, or surgical removal, of the lymph node, and wrote a consultation to see a surgeon.   He seemed almost nervous, leaving the room a couple times, coming back in, and then waiting for me out in the hallway as I changed back into my clothes.  As I was leaving, he wrote down my phone number.  I don't remember what he said as I left, because my head was spinning.

"It's a lot to take in," the radiology tech said to me that day.  Yes, it certainly was.  I decided to think positive.  Maybe he was wrong.  Maybe it was just an enlarged, but benign, lymph node.  My husband and I had already made reservations for a wine tasting dinner at a local wine bar for that evening.  It was a lovely time.  We sampled several kinds of wine and accompanying dishes and then ordered a few bottles of our favorite variety to enjoy at home.

We enjoyed our wine, my husband and I.  Our vino, we called it.  We usually enjoyed a bottle on a Friday or Saturday evening while the kids watched a movie.  It used to be our special time together. We'd listen to music, sometimes light a candle, and talk about the week, make plans, laugh, and have a great time.  In addition, I actually thought that drinking wine was good for my health.  But when I learned that the lump I had found was indeed a cancerous lymph node and had spread from a tumor in my breast, I researched the relationship between alcohol and breast cancer.  What I learned led me to the decision to completely give up drinking alcohol.

Alcohol and Estrogen

Research has consistently shown that drinking alcohol, even if you don't get drunk or binge drink, is associated with an increased risk of hormone receptor positive breast cancer, which is the type I had. Alcohol increases estrogen levels.  Women who drink three servings of alcohol per week(wine, beer or hard liquor) have a 15% greater chance of developing breast cancer than women who don't drink at all.  That risk goes up another 10% for each additional drink.  Studies have also shown that alcohol increases the risk of a recurrence in women who have previously been treated for hormone receptor positive breast cancer. Source:  BreastCancer.Org

More recent studies have shown that even smaller amounts of alcohol intake increase breast cancer risk.  The Million Woman Study in the United Kingdom, as well as a meta-analysis of 53 studies, concluded that "the risk of breast cancer was higher across all levels of alcohol intake: for every 10 grams of alcohol consumed per day (slightly less than one drink), researchers observed a small (7 percent) increase in the risk of breast cancer. " cancer.gov

If you have been diagnosed in the past with breast cancer, my advice is to quit or at least cut down on alcohol consumption.  A serving consists of 12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces of wine or 1.5 ounces of hard liquor.

Tips for Living Alcohol Free

It's been almost a year since I had my last alcoholic drink and I haven't missed it at all.  If I ever feel tempted, I will remind myself of my health and say, "No, thank you."  Here are some ideas you could use to reduce the temptation and replace alcohol with other fun drinks instead.

• Make  Mocktails, such as a  Virgin Mary Mocktail.  

• Freeze juice in ice cube trays and add to a glass of sparkling water

• Make Infused Water:  There are many recipes for infusing water with fruit, herbs or flowers.  It looks festive and tastes great.  Try infusedwaters.com, a blog dedicated to infused waters, for some great recipes.