Breast Cancer & Alcohol -Should We Stop Drinking?

I'm tired of saying "here we go again" - another day another study.  This time it's about drinking and breast cancer. According to research by Kaiser Permante drinking significantly increases the risk of developing breast cancer, and even moderate drinking can make women more vulnerable to the disease.

The study of more than 70,000 Kaiser patients, results of which were presented Wednesday, showed that women who drank three or more alcoholic beverages a day increased their risk of breast cancer by 30 percent.

Women who drank one or two a day increased their risk by 10 percent.

It didn't matter what kind of alcohol the women consumed, researchers said. So, if you're drinking red wine for cardiovascular health, you just might be increasing your risk of breast cancer. And, wine is no healthier than beer or any other kind of alcohol you might be drinking.  It's all about the alcohol.

The researchers are saying that moderate drinkers shouldn't’t necessarily stop having their daily glass of wine. The risk of breast cancer is low enough that they will want to take into consideration potential health benefits of drinking small amounts of alcohol.

Women who are heavy drinkers, however, or those who are already at high risk of developing breast cancer because of genetic factors might want to reconsider their drinking habits, said Yan Li, a study co-author.

Doctors said that other factors, such as genetics, obesity and age, were more important in raising the breast cancer risk than was alcohol consumption.

“A woman who drinks one glass of wine every night, whether she should keep doing that should depend on her own health, her family history,” Li said.

Scientists don’t know why alcohol affects breast cancer. Li said there are theories that alcohol changes women’s estrogen metabolism, so that heavy drinkers end up with more estrogen in their bodies.

So what should you do?  Well, personally I am not going to do anything different.  I'm not alarmed. In fact, if we wait six months there will probably be a new study that debunks this one.  I am going to continue enjoying my glass of wine as I always have.

In my opinion, publicly announcing results of these studies before they have real conclusive proof does more harm than good.  The fear and the confusion they create for women is unforgivable.  That's why I keep saying it's so important to look for a responsible and caring doctor.  One that can help you make some sense of this constant stream of mixed messages.