View Full Version : Alcohol and Cancer
So the information has been out there for a bit but I finally spent a bit of time reading the medical literature around alcohol's role in cancer development. After reading, I have come to the conclusion that alcohol is almost as deadly as smoking and that there is now enough data to say it causes some types of cancers. As a result, I have decided to quit drinking alcohol for the rest of my life to help reduce my risk of developing some of the types of cancers linked with alcohol consumption. Has anyone else on the board taken this step?
I quit drinking earlier this year because it was doing my anxiety disorders no favours. Short term, it's great! A universal panacea. Long term, it's just horrible. I won't say I'll never drink again - I LOVE my red wine and I'm quite fond of white too - but for now I'm off the stuff.
ServerError
08-09-17, 00:21
Moderate alcohol intake is also protective against some illnesses (especially wine). Personally, I wouldn't give up alcohol for this reason. The occasional drink does no harm. Obviously it's your choice. I'm just saying.
Quit enabling me, Server :roflmao:
Moderate alcohol intake is also protective against some illnesses (especially wine). Personally, I wouldn't give up alcohol for this reason. The occasional drink does no harm. Obviously it's your choice. I'm just saying.
The current literature coming out of the UK, the US and WHO does not support your claim. Even low to moderate use of alcohol increases risk of certain cancers. While not as high as the risk faced by heavy drinkers, low to moderate drinkers are well within scope. The literature also says the benefits that may be present with low to moderate use of alcohol (and this idea of benefits from some types of alcohol is not clearly defined or understood) is not sufficient reason to continue using alcohol or for never drinkers to start using alcohol.
MyNameIsTerry
08-09-17, 02:14
The current literature coming out of the UK, the US and WHO does not support your claim. Even low to moderate use of alcohol increases risk of certain cancers. While not as high as the risk faced by heavy drinkers, low to moderate drinkers are well within scope. The literature also says the benefits that may be present with low to moderate use of alcohol (and this idea of benefits from some types of alcohol is not clearly defined or understood) is not sufficient reason to continue using alcohol or for never drinkers to start using alcohol.
The NHS has previously stated that the benefits of alcohol in the heart were limited to certain groups and didn't present as great a benefit as other healthy practices such as exercise.
Basically, low alcohol consumption means low risk, not no risk. But then life is full of such risks so people are free to choose.
Personally, I'm not doing this due to cancer risk (which I bet doesn't worry too many people outside of HA forums :winks:) but haven't drank since my relapse due to issues with my meds and the increased anxiety problems they left me with. I'm in a much better place now but after years you don't really think about it much at all and I've lost all my mates anyway so the drinking culture is well & truly gone for me!
If you want to do something to improve your health, I think that's great. But definately make it part if a wider package of healthy living. Diet & exercise are very important.
Alcohol is linked but I don't see it as deadly as smoking. Do the statistics back it up? If it does, I don't see the NHS telling us this. They tell us to quit smoking completely, not reduce it.
Smoling is easier to deal with though, alcohol is pretty much engrained in society in countries like the UK. When I was young you went out and got pissed. Since then the media have discovered the phrase "binge drinking" to label people with to imply everyone has a problem...which would cover huge protions of cities like mine if so :winks:
ServerError
08-09-17, 02:32
As far as I can tell, the messages on this are mixed. Some sources state potential benefits, including the Mayo Clinic. Although they also state it isn't certain, so take from it what you will.
But to be honest, on a personal level, it doesn't matter that much to me. I drink rarely, but I enjoy it when I do, and I'm not going to worry about it giving me cancer. I could just as easily keel over and die from something unrelated to moderate alcohol use, and I damn sure want to be able to say I enjoyed myself when I was here.
MyNameIsTerry
08-09-17, 02:44
I could just as easily keel over and die from something unrelated to moderate alcohol use, and I damn sure want to be able to say I enjoyed myself when I was here.
I reckon that's what most people would say. If you followed every piece of health advice, how much would you actually live? But then, I'm a wearer of 6ft condoms :D
ServerError
08-09-17, 02:55
Alright, there's no need to show off!
MyNameIsTerry
08-09-17, 04:38
Alright, there's no need to show off!
:biggrin: I was thinking of The Naked Gun
https://i.pinimg.com/564x/c6/42/cc/c642cc4917904ae27a81d24b9f5b42d6.jpg
As far as I can tell, the messages on this are mixed. Some sources state potential benefits, including the Mayo Clinic. Although they also state it isn't certain, so take from it what you will.
But to be honest, on a personal level, it doesn't matter that much to me. I drink rarely, but I enjoy it when I do, and I'm not going to worry about it giving me cancer. I could just as easily keel over and die from something unrelated to moderate alcohol use, and I damn sure want to be able to say I enjoyed myself when I was here.
I hear you and I hope I didn't come across as being dogmatic.
MyNameIsTerry
08-09-17, 11:46
I hear you and I hope I didn't come across as being dogmatic.
I think you came across as factual, not like the image of many an ex smoker lecturing a smoker. Like I said, the NHS agree it's about risk level which backs up what you are saying.
ServerError
08-09-17, 12:06
Yeah, I didn't think it was dogmatic either. At the end of the day, you're entitled to decide not to drink if you don't want to.
paranoid-viking
08-09-17, 13:12
So the information has been out there for a bit but I finally spent a bit of time reading the medical literature around alcohol's role in cancer development. After reading, I have come to the conclusion that alcohol is almost as deadly as smoking and that there is now enough data to say it causes some types of cancers. As a result, I have decided to quit drinking alcohol for the rest of my life to help reduce my risk of developing some of the types of cancers linked with alcohol consumption. Has anyone else on the board taken this step?
Alcohol abuse can cause cancer; that is true; but moderate and sensible alchol consumption does not(although there are probably some garbage articles in the Daily Toiletpaper that claims otherwise). But keeping a moderate and sensible consumption is not that easy for everyone and I think that if you find it reasonable to cut out alcohol I think that is a good decision. It wont harm you not to drink, that is for sure. Cancer is one thing though; and not the most likely harm that alcohol can cause; it is for the most unlucky one. But there are several non-cancerous but bad, very bad chronical and dangerous diseases caused by alcol abuse aswell so if one has problem controlling ones own alcohol consumption one should stop. And alcohol abuse is not nescesarily the same as alcoholism.
Saying that, I came to think of the smoking and alcohol awareness campaigns in school. Than anti smoking campaigns are rightfully pointing out the real health dangers of smoking, but the alcohol campaings seems merely and only to point out the bad effects of being drunk and the social problems ascociated with alcoholism; I can not remember that the health dangers of alchol was mentioned at all in these campaings; which is bad; as there are many alcoholics/alcohol abusers which are functioning normally in their everyday life but are destroying their bodies with their drinking. I knew of one case; socially functioning perfectly but died of organs failing after 40 year of so of abuse.
---------- Post added at 14:12 ---------- Previous post was at 14:10 ----------
The current literature coming out of the UK, the US and WHO does not support your claim. Even low to moderate use of alcohol increases risk of certain cancers. While not as high as the risk faced by heavy drinkers, low to moderate drinkers are well within scope. The literature also says the benefits that may be present with low to moderate use of alcohol (and this idea of benefits from some types of alcohol is not clearly defined or understood) is not sufficient reason to continue using alcohol or for never drinkers to start using alcohol.
Cancer caused by alcoholism takes decades to develop, but chronical conditions which are more common may come much earlier if the abuse is high enough.
Alcohol abuse can cause cancer; that is true; but moderate and sensible alchol consumption does not(although there are probably some garbage articles in the Daily Toiletpaper that claims otherwise). But keeping a moderate and sensible consumption is not that easy for everyone and I think that if you find it reasonable to cut out alcohol I think that is a good decision. It wont harm you not to drink, that is for sure. Cancer is one thing though; and not the most likely harm that alcohol can cause; it is for the most unlucky one. But there are several non-cancerous but bad, very bad chronical and dangerous diseases caused by alcol abuse aswell so if one has problem controlling ones own alcohol consumption one should stop. And alcohol abuse is not nescesarily the same as alcoholism.
Saying that, I came to think of the smoking and alcohol awareness campaigns in school. Than anti smoking campaigns are rightfully pointing out the real health dangers of smoking, but the alcohol campaings seems merely and only to point out the bad effects of being drunk and the social problems ascociated with alcoholism; I can not remember that the health dangers of alchol was mentioned at all in these campaings; which is bad; as there are many alcoholics/alcohol abusers which are functioning normally in their everyday life but are destroying their bodies with their drinking. I knew of one case; socially functioning perfectly but died of organs failing after 40 year of so of abuse.
---------- Post added at 14:12 ---------- Previous post was at 14:10 ----------
Cancer caused by alcoholism takes decades to develop, but chronical conditions which are more common may come much earlier if the abuse is high enough.
There are a lot of mistakes and inaccurate statements in your post. I would encourage you to engage with the medical literature.
https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/alcohol/alcohol-fact-sheet
paranoid-viking
09-09-17, 12:54
There are a lot of mistakes and inaccurate statements in your post. I would encourage you to engage with the medical literature.
https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/alcohol/alcohol-fact-sheet
What is wrong with my statement? I see nothing in that link to contradict it.
What is wrong with my statement? I see nothing in that link to contradict it.
There were some other medical literature that make this more explicit:
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/824237
Eventhesparrows
09-09-17, 22:31
I have also decided not to drink, but then again, I've never even been drunk because I don't like drinking. But I've also taken it a step further and am doing a whole-foods-plant-based lifestyle. If you'd like more information on that, please let me know.
paranoid-viking
10-09-17, 00:55
There were some other medical literature that make this more explicit:
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/824237
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It's a multi-page document but I have pasted the first page:
News & Perspective (http://www.medscape.com/)No Amount of Alcohol Is Safe
Laura A. Stokowski, RN, MS
DisclosuresApril 30, 2014
Responsible Drinking? Not Very
"Responsible drinking" has become a 21st-century mantra for how most people view alcohol consumption. But when it comes to cancer, no amount of alcohol is safe.[1] That is the conclusion of the 2014 World Cancer Report (WCR), issued by the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).
Declared a carcinogen by the IARC in 1988,[2] alcohol is causally related to several cancers. "We have known for a long time that alcohol causes esophageal cancer, says Jürgen Rehm, PhD, WCR contributor on alcohol consumption, and Senior Scientist at the Centre for Addictions and Mental Health in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, "but the relationship with other tumors, such as breast cancer, has come to our attention only in the past 10-15 years."
The Risk Is Dose-Dependent
The more alcohol that a person drinks, the higher the risk. The alcohol/cancer link has been strengthened by the finding of a dose/response relationship between alcohol consumption and certain cancers. A causal relationship exists between alcohol consumption and cancers of the mouth, pharynx, larynx, esophagus, colon-rectum, liver, and female breast; a significant relationship also exists between alcohol consumption and pancreatic cancer.[1]
Links have also been made between alcohol consumption and leukemia; multiple myeloma; and cancers of the cervix, vulva, vagina, and skin, but fewer studies have looked at these relationships and more research is needed to establish a confirmed association.[1] For bladder, lung, and stomach cancers, the evidence for an alcohol-cancer link is conflicting.
How Solid Are These Data?
"For the cancers that have been identified as being causally linked with alcohol, we are absolutely certain that alcohol causes these cancers," says Dr. Rehm. "About a few cancers, such as pancreatic cancer, we are not yet certain," he says. "We believe that we have good evidence showing that alcohol can cause pancreatic cancer, but we would not go so far as we would for esophageal cancer or breast cancer. And for renal cancer, the IARC has said that there are indications that there may be an effect, but we don't have the same level of evidence that we have for cancers that are clearly detrimentally linked to alcohol."
But surely, light drinking doesn't cause or contribute to cancer? Apparently, it does. In a meta-analysis of 222 studies comprising 92,000 light drinkers and 60,000 nondrinkers with cancer, light drinking was associated with risk for oropharyngeal cancer, esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, and female breast cancer.[3] From this meta-analysis, it was estimated that in 2004 worldwide, 5000 deaths from oropharyngeal cancer, 24,000 from esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, and 5000 from breast cancer were attributable to light drinking. Light drinking was not associated with cancer of the colon-rectum, liver, or larynx.
However, a caveat is in order here. When alcohol use is self-reported, respondents might underestimate, or underreport, their actual alcohol intake.[4] This can result in finding associations between cancer and light to moderate drinking, when in reality, alcohol intake is much higher.
MyNameIsTerry
10-09-17, 04:55
I have also decided not to drink, but then again, I've never even been drunk because I don't like drinking. But I've also taken it a step further and am doing a whole-foods-plant-based lifestyle. If you'd like more information on that, please let me know.
Tell us more. I'm sure some will be interested in the diet.
Anxious Kitty
11-09-17, 18:13
Ugh, I honestly HATE alcohol and don't drink it at all. It tastes gross, any drink that could be potentially good on its own is nasty with alcohol added, it burns and smells bad, and I don't enjoy how it makes me feel.
I've only had it about 5-6 times and the reason I didn't stop after 1-2, is cuz society as a whole is so annoying whenever someone doesn't like the stuff. People always take "I don't like alcohol" as an invitation to recommend something they think you'll enjoy cuz "you can't even taste the alcohol in it!"
Yeah, sorry - wrong. I can. And what's the point? Like I said, I don't like how it feels. Mind you, I've never had enough to get drunk but it always just made me jittery and tired. I have no desire to be drunk... it sounds scary. I like having control of myself, thank you.
Sorry for the rant but I guess this is just another reason for me to hate and avoid the stuff. Just wish the rest of society would leave well enough alone and respect people's wishes. I really don't get why it's so important.
Now... excuse me while I have an anxiety attack cuz my boyfriend, unlike me, enjoys his alcohol. :( He's not a heavy drinker or anything but now I'm gonna worry about him...
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