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Old 02-17-2013, 11:34 AM   #1
jacqueline1102
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Thoughts on drinking alcohol

Hello all,

After much discussion with others and doing some of my own research, I was wondering what are your thoughts about whether drinking alcohol is connected to breast cancer. I know I sure enjoyed my wine on Friday and Saturday nights splitting a bottle with my husband and having friends over for nice meals. Drinking alcohol is a subject of much controversy and yet it is so much part of our culture. So, just wondering what are your thoughts and if you have read anything that discusses this or if your treatment team has discussed this with you? My oncologist has directly said that drinking alcohol, not getting enought exercise, and gaining weight are measures that we should take as a culture to prevent the disease but no one ever wants to talk about it because then people would say that we are blaming the breast cancer patient for their disease. I like my oncologist and will ask him challenging questions and after this much time treating me, he talks freely with me about hypothesis, research, and the big business of cancer treatment.

Or is it all just random? Like my primary care physician said, "I think it is just fate." I personally felt deflated when my PCP said that because what if we could prevent this horrible disease by having frank discussions and teaching the younger generations that your health care habits have more of a bearing on the dvelopment of cancer than just simple genetics such as the BRCA gene.

Then again, the wineries, restaurants, and beverage industry would go out of business and what would happen to our economy then? I know I am rambling a bit here but you all seem quite intelligent and objective so I am wondering what you are thinking.

Take care,

Jackie

Alcohol causes 20,000 cancer deaths in the U.S. annually - CBS News
http://www.cbsnews.com/.../alcohol-c...ancer-deaths-i...
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Old 02-17-2013, 02:57 PM   #2
tricia keegan
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Re: Thoughts on drinking alcohol

I recall during my chemo my Onc told me alcohol was fine but not the day before or day after chemo (not that I felt like drinking anyway!). I enjoy a drink at the weekends mostly and maybe once mid week with dinner and intend to continue to enjoy it, I think BC is a crap shoot as I've lost so many friends already that had a worse prognosis than I and I only quit smoking last year too! I think like everything, in moderation its fine!
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A/C X 4 ..Taxol/Herceptin x 12 wks then herceptin 1 yr
Rads x 36 ..oophorectomy August '06
Currently taking Arimidex..
June 2011 osteopenia/ zometa x1 yearly- stopped Zometa 2015 as Dexa show normal bone density.
Stopped Arimidex July 2014- Restarted Arimidex 2015 for a further two years on the advice of my Onc.
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Old 02-17-2013, 04:45 PM   #3
Catkins
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Re: Thoughts on drinking alcohol

Hi ladies

Breast cancer has taken away my left boob and my hair and I am determined it is not going to take away anything else.

My onc and dietician have no objections to moderate red wine drinking. In the UK, the government advises no more than 14 units a week (a bottle of wine is about 9 units).

Mostly I stick to this but sometimes I don't. Occasionally I worry about this but mostly I don't.

Horses for courses I guess.

Cheers!

Catkins
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January 2012 - Grade 3 DCIS (2.8cm) and IDC (3.4cm) HER2+ diagnosed.
February 2012 - Mastectomy. No vascular or lymph node spread.
March-May - 2012 FEC x 4
June-July 2012 - Taxotere x 3
August 2012 - Taxotere x 1+ Herceptin
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Old 02-17-2013, 09:14 PM   #4
carlatte7
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Re: Thoughts on drinking alcohol

My onco was good with a glass of red wine with dinner. At my fisrt appt with my surgeon, i said," i don't smoke, or drink to excess; I raise vegetables in our garden and can them, we raise our own beef, I breastfed 5 children a year apiece---andi still got breat cancer,". She said, "you're a girl and you have boobs." Too many things unknown for me to give up my Old Style at a Cubs game or glass of Brunello with dinner!
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Biopsy- DCIS, IDC, er-/pr-/her2+++, grade3. 1 node suspicious on us. Biopsy +.
Plan was for Neoadjuvant TCH x6, Herceptin q3w x a year.
May1- first chemo.
May 5- I could no longer feel the mass. Really. Neither could my oncologist.
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August6- lumpectomy with axillary node dissection. No disease present in breast. 1 out of 14 nodes + (4mm)
MUGA #2- 72%
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March '14- oncologist says return in 6 mo.
April '14- mammo unchanged. Surgeon will see me in 6 months but no mammo for a year unless something changes. Its getting easier, but oh, boydo i hate that scanxiety! Keeping port until 2 year anniversary of last Herceptin.
Sept'14- bloodwork good, return to onco in 8 months.
Oct'14- surgeon will see me in April '15. Moving on.
May '15- mammo unchanged, keeping same schedule. Tumor markers soon and if all is well port comes out.
July '15-tumor markers normal. See onco in a year. Appt. for port end of month. First grandchild born July 1st- for today, life is good.
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Old 02-17-2013, 10:02 PM   #5
lasarles
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Re: Thoughts on drinking alcohol

I am inclined to believe that the foods we eat that are pumped or sprayed with unnatural garbage are more likely to cause cancer than the occasional glass of wine or alcoholic beverage.
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3/12/12 Found Lump Lt Breast (BSE).
3/13/12 44th Birthday, Mammogram, Ultrasound.
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ER90% PR90% Her2+
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Old 02-18-2013, 05:39 AM   #6
Lauriesh
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Re: Thoughts on drinking alcohol

I don't drink alcohol because I had liver mets. I try to do everything i can to help support my liver, so I don't drink, try to eat healthy, careful about what OTC meds I take, etc.

Laurie
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Year of Herceptin
liver mets- July-2010
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Old 02-18-2013, 07:39 AM   #7
Hopeful
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Re: Thoughts on drinking alcohol

My hobby is wine collecting, and none of my doctors have advised me to give up wine drinking, all just recommend moderation.

Hopeful
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Old 02-18-2013, 12:31 PM   #8
Jackie07
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Re: Thoughts on drinking alcohol

Am J Public Health. 2013 Feb 14. [Epub ahead of print]
Alcohol-Attributable Cancer Deaths and Years of Potential Life Lost in the United States.

Nelson DE, Jarman DW, Rehm J, Greenfield TK, Rey G, Kerr WC, Miller P, Shield KD, Ye Y, Naimi TS.
Source

David E. Nelson and Paige Miller are with National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD. Dwayne W. Jarman is with Food and Drug Administration, Detroit, MI, and US Public Health Service, Rockville, MD. Jürgen Rehm and Kevin D. Shield are with Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Ontario. Thomas K. Greenfield, William C. Kerr, and Yu Ye are with Alcohol Research Group, Public Health Institute, Emeryville, CA. Grégoire Rey is with INSERM, CépiDc, Le Kremlin-Bicêtre, France. Timothy S. Naimi is with Boston University Medical Center, Boston, MA.

Abstract

Objectives. Our goal was to provide current estimates of alcohol-attributable cancer mortality and years of potential life lost (YPLL) in the United States. Methods. We used 2 methods to calculate population-attributable fractions. We based relative risks on meta-analyses published since 2000, and adult alcohol consumption on data from the 2009 Alcohol Epidemiologic Data System, 2009 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, and 2009-2010 National Alcohol Survey. Results. Alcohol consumption resulted in an estimated 18 200 to 21 300 cancer deaths, or 3.2% to 3.7% of all US cancer deaths. The majority of alcohol-attributable female cancer deaths were from breast cancer (56% to 66%), whereas upper airway and esophageal cancer deaths were more common among men (53% to 71%). Alcohol-attributable cancers resulted in 17.0 to 19.1 YPLL for each death. Daily consumption of up to 20 grams of alcohol (≤ 1.5 drinks) accounted for 26% to 35% of alcohol-attributable cancer deaths. Conclusions. Alcohol remains a major contributor to cancer mortality and YPLL. Higher consumption increases risk but there is no safe threshold for alcohol and cancer risk. Reducing alcohol consumption is an important and underemphasized cancer prevention strategy. (Am J Public Health. Published online ahead of print February 14, 2013: e1-e8. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2012.301199).
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Old 02-18-2013, 12:52 PM   #9
BonnieR
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Re: Thoughts on drinking alcohol

I am a recovering alcoholic Have not had a drink in 27 years. But i was on HRT
I think cancer is a crap shoot. One of my docs said. "It's the hand you were dealt"
Keep the faith
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Post menopause
May 2007 Core biopsy, Rt breast
ER+, Pr-, HER2 +++, Grade 3
Ki-67: 90%
"suspicious area" left breast
Bilateral mastectomy, (NED on left) May 2007
Sentinel Node Neg
Stage 1, DCIS with microinvasion, 3 mm, mostly removed during the biopsy....
Femara (discontinued 7/07) Resumed 10/07
OncoType score 36 (July 07)
Began THC 7/26/07 (d/c taxol and carboplatin 10/07)
Began Herceptin alone 10/07
Finished Herceptin July /08
D/C Femara 4/10 (joint pain/trigger thumb!)
5/10 mistakenly dx with lung cancer. Middle rt lobe removed!
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Old 02-18-2013, 12:55 PM   #10
NanaJoni
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Re: Thoughts on drinking alcohol

I think you are right, Bonnie - and I've used those exact words many times over the last 3 years. As for this study - did they factor in how many people who drink alcohol also smoke, or have jobs that put them at high risk or genetic predisposition? Just doesn't seem definitive to me. Most Saturday evenings my husband and I enjoy a glass of wine and often when we go out to dinner. I don't think it's any more risky than getting in my car and driving to the grocery.
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Joni -64 yrs old -
3/01/10: found lump in rt.breast
3/12/10: mammogram/ultrasnd/biopsy-invasive bc & DCIS; 2 tumors (2cm er-/pr-/HER2-& 1.8 cm er-/pr-/HER2+); grade 3;poorly differentiated
3/24/10:sent.node biopsy clear
3/31/10:bi-lateral mx.;atypical ductal hyperplasia-lft side
4/21/10:wound revision-infection/scarring 4/28/10:seromas both sides
5/21/10:port installed,TCH chemo (6 x 3 wks); Herc,-1yr; 33 rad tx after chemo
07/2010: port not working-2nd port didnt'work;3rd port opposite side.
07/2010: 2 weeks after 3rd port surgery, threw 3 pulm. emboli-IVC filter installed; warfarin
08/2010: hospitalizations w/3 of chemos; decision to stop after 4th-on to radiation in Oct 2010;Herc cont.
12/03/2010 - finished 33 rads Hooray!! cont. Herc. every 3 wks
4/2011 - pneumonia ??? Nope-radiation pneumonitis. No more Herc.
5/2011 - NED!!! port out.
8/2011 - clean PET & CT scans.Still NED
7/2012 - Still NED/very blessed.
2/2013 - 6 mos checkup-all clear. CA2729 down frm 13 to 11.
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Old 02-18-2013, 02:54 PM   #11
'lizbeth
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Re: Thoughts on drinking alcohol

I drank beaucoup wine before cancer, and lot's of rum & cokes. I suspect it was part of a jet set lifestyle that packed on the pounds and created a healthy environment for the cancer to grow.

I am on the wagon again - not because of cancer prevention, but to get my blood pressure low enough to avoid medication. Coffee will be on the chopping block next I suppose . . . sigh.
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Traditional Treatment: Mastectomy and Axillary Node Dissection followed by Taxotere, 6 treatments and 1 year of Herceptin, no radiation
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Additional treatments:
GP2 vaccine, San Antonio Med Ctr
Prescriptive Exercise for Cancer Patients
ENERGY Study, UCSD La Jolla

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Old 02-18-2013, 03:24 PM   #12
jaykay
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Re: Thoughts on drinking alcohol

It is a crapshoot. I was on HRT because of early menopause and smoked for almost 40 years. Have been tobacco free for almost 5 years and was and still am a very lightweight drinker. I exercise most days, eat a well balanced diet and am very healthy other than the %#*^ cancer.

But I enjoy white wine and have no intention of giving it up. I only drink a little during the 3rd week after chemo and dilute it with ice (that wouldn't work with red :-)).

I wouldn't give up chocolate or sweets either - they are the only things that taste normal these days!

Best,

Janis
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March, 2000: 48, Post menopausal (5 yrs HRT) Left breast, IDC 3mm/DCIS 1.6cm, ER+/PR-/Her2+++, mod differentiated, MIB low, lumpectomy, node neg via SNB, rads=33 Stage 1a
June, 2000: Tamox 4.5 years,Femara for 5 years (end in Jan. 2010)
Sept, 2012: 61, Via mamm, ultrasound, biopsy, right breast, 2.3cm tumor, ER+/PR-/Her2+++, poorly diff, KI67 60-70%
BRCA 1 and 2 negative
October, 2012: Bi Mast with tissue expanders, port placement
Final Path: IDC 2.8cm, DCIS, 1/4 sentinal nodes positive (@#$%). Stage IIB
Nov 29, 2012: Begin TCH/6x/every 3 wks, H for 1 year/every 3 weeks.
March 14, 2013: Finished chemo
April 9, 2013: Begin radiation 28x
May 22, 2013: Finished rads
June 1st, 2013: Started Aromasin for 5 yrs.
July 15, 2013: Switched to Letrozole (Femara). Probably for the rest of my life
October 16, 2013: Exchange surgery
October 31, 2013: Finished Herceptin
December 5, 2013: Port removed
Glad this year is over!
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Old 02-18-2013, 04:14 PM   #13
chekmark
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Re: Thoughts on drinking alcohol

Good question. I was never a big drinker, socially mostly and I got breast cancer. Diet and exercise makes sense with any disease but it does not guarantee anything. Since I have been out of treatment I still drink socially and try not to beat myself up over it. We only live once so we have to enjoy something. I find that people judge me when they see me have a drink, they look at me like what r u doing u have had cancer. Cancer takes so much away from us, self esteem, energy, hair,breast etc,etc,etc. I say enjoy a drink if u feel the need. Just my opinion. Cheers.
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Stray kitten found my lump while I was playing with it. It is now my pet and my dog is not real happy about that.
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reconstruction 12/09/11
Chapter closed 12/10/11, hopefully, fingers crossed
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Old 02-18-2013, 04:16 PM   #14
Patb
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Re: Thoughts on drinking alcohol

My mother said all in moderation, so nightly glass of red
wine for me. The can goods are probably worse. The plastic,we store things in, on and on. It is a crap shoot so enjoy.
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Diagnosed June, 06, Stage I, Grade3, ER+PR- Her2positive, No Nodes. A/C X 4. Radiation 33 with boost, Herceptin every two weeks until Nov.
07, Arimedex for 5 years. Mugas and Echo and chest xRay. Bone scan of whole Body, and Back of Brain and spine MRI.
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Old 02-18-2013, 04:33 PM   #15
tricia keegan
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Re: Thoughts on drinking alcohol

The strange thing is that I hardly drank at all before my dx, I quit the ciggie's fourteen months ago but do intend to have a drink if I feel like it twice a week, all in moderation of course!
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Dx July '05 IDC 1.9cm Triple positive 3/9 nodes positive
A/C X 4 ..Taxol/Herceptin x 12 wks then herceptin 1 yr
Rads x 36 ..oophorectomy August '06
Currently taking Arimidex..
June 2011 osteopenia/ zometa x1 yearly- stopped Zometa 2015 as Dexa show normal bone density.
Stopped Arimidex July 2014- Restarted Arimidex 2015 for a further two years on the advice of my Onc.
2014 Normal Dexa scan
2018 Mammo all clear, still NED!
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Old 02-19-2013, 01:07 PM   #16
StephN
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Re: Thoughts on drinking alcohol

I wish there was a better understanding of "contributing factors" they come up with - for just about ANY disease.

I have continued to have a glass of wine - sometimes red or white or rose - with my dinner all this time. Beaujolais or low alcohol, sort of sweet German wine was all that tasted at all decent when I was on chemos (due to the mouth sores).

Anyone with stomach acid problems may want to avoid wine until that gets back under control.

Since my diagnosis I have been VERY careful about WHATEVER I buy. This includes garden and lawn products, house cleaners, soaps of all kinds, besides foods. Just takes a little longer to go to the right stores, read labels and talk to staff about the choices.

We have gone through our garage and tool room to get rid of old products and take them to the hazardous waste recycling station. Have more to take right now...

So, as many of you have said, we have a whole environment to deal with. I just try to make my home and property the least toxic as possible.

I also do not seem to have the genetic predisposition that would make a little alcohol intake a problem for me. In that context, I feel a glass of well made, small producer wine is my reward. (In Europe they consider wine as a food anyway!)
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Live in the moment.

MY STORY SO FAR ~~~~
Found suspicious lump 9/2000
Lumpectomy, then node dissection and port placement
Stage IIB, 8 pos nodes of 18, Grade 3, ER & PR -
Adriamycin 12 weekly, taxotere 4 rounds
36 rads - very little burning
3 mos after rads liver full of tumors, Stage IV Jan 2002, one spot on sternum
Weekly Taxol, Navelbine, Herceptin for 27 rounds to NED!
2003 & 2004 no active disease - 3 weekly Herceptin + Zometa
Jan 2005 two mets to brain - Gamma Knife on Jan 18
All clear until treated cerebellum spot showing activity on Jan 2006 brain MRI & brain PET
Brain surgery on Feb 9, 2006 - no cancer, 100% radiation necrosis - tumor was still dying
Continue as NED while on Herceptin & quarterly Zometa
Fall-2006 - off Zometa - watching one small brain spot (scar?)
2007 - spot/scar in brain stable - finished anticoagulation therapy for clot along my port-a-catheter - 3 angioplasties to unblock vena cava
2008 - Brain and body still NED! Port removed and scans in Dec.
Dec 2008 - stop Herceptin - Vaccine Trial at U of W begun in Oct. of 2011
STILL NED everywhere in Feb 2014 - on wing & prayer
7/14 - Started twice yearly Zometa for my bones
Jan. 2015 checkup still shows NED
2015 Neuropathy in feet - otherwise all OK - still NED.
Same news for 2016 and all of 2017.
Nov of 2017 - had small skin cancer removed from my face. Will have Zometa end of Jan. 2018.
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Old 02-23-2013, 01:19 PM   #17
chekmark
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Re: Thoughts on drinking alcohol

I just want to say congrats to Bonnie on her sobriety. What an accomplishment.
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DX Sept 30 2010 at the age of 49. Oh crap! 1.5 cm idc, stage 1 grade 3 er/pr+, her2+ no lymph nodes, mastectomy Oct/10. Started 6 rounds of TCH Dec/10 and will continue herceptin until Nov /11 and just started femara.
Stray kitten found my lump while I was playing with it. It is now my pet and my dog is not real happy about that.
Mammo good
last herceptin 11/21/11 YAY
reconstruction 12/09/11
Chapter closed 12/10/11, hopefully, fingers crossed
Bone scan, chest xray, clear
04/27/12 Expander removed, implant put in, ahh sigh of relief, much more comfortable
Sept 30, 2014, 4 years NED
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Old 02-23-2013, 03:46 PM   #18
Forever_Fighting
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Re: Thoughts on drinking alcohol

I was glad to come across this post since this is something I have been wondering about myself. The internet and research can be so overwhelming when you’re trying to figure out what you should or should not eat/drink when you have cancer.

Before I was dx’d, I was a regular drinker. I would enjoy a drink or two after work and a few more on the weekends, especially in the summer when BBQ season rolled around. Most of our friends drink so it was socially acceptable in our circle and I just plain enjoyed it.

When I was initially dx’d and started my treatments (radiation to be specific) I gave up everything, junk/fast food, smoking, caffeine and of course alcohol. My husband and I gutted our cupboards/fridge and went on a mass shopping spree to buy everything healthy we could think of. We didn’t eat that badly before this but we are both overweight and out of shape which we are now changing. Most of these diet changes were made from the fear of knowing the disease I had and wanting to do everything in my power to stop it. In the end, I had a very rough first week and even though the radiation caused me to feel tired all the time and lose my appetite a bit, I blame most of it on the withdrawals from quitting everything cold turkey (which I was also told by my radiation Doctor).

Once I started to feel better, the fatigue went away and my appetite came back, I treated myself to KFC one night and Chinese the next. The funny thing about that was, I don’t even like KFC, it was almost like a pregnancy craving, lol! I actually felt guilty about doing that and spoke to my Onco on my next appointment and although I need to avoid a few things, she told me to live my life and that anything in moderation is fine. My family Doctor also told me that unless I start waking up each morning and polishing off a bottle of vodka a day, a few drinks once and a while won't hurt me J

Since then I have allowed myself to feel normal again and enjoy some of the “bad things” in life on week three of my treatments. I figure going from living “badly” daily to once a month is a great change to my lifestyle and it also gives me something to look forward to between treatments as well as in general.

I only just started my chemo treatments (2 down so far) and I avoid alcohol the day before treatment as well as the first two weeks after but then it’s my time!! On week three (on the weekend), I spoil myself to a cup or two of coffee on one of the mornings, one of my favorite snacks (chips to be specific) and a few drinks that night with my husband if I feel the desire to do so!

We may all have an “illness” but we’re not dead and I have no intention on spending my last years in a bubble. I’m sad to say that I started smoking again but I went from ¾ of a pack a day to closet smoking and only having a few a day. I do plan on quitting smoking for good since I feel like I’m tempting fate by asking for a secondary form of cancer but the few I have are helping me cope right now.

In the end we all need to remember one thing, we’re still only human!!! J
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Old 02-23-2013, 07:32 PM   #19
BonnieR
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Re: Thoughts on drinking alcohol

Thanks Chekmatk! I just did it a day at a time! I must say, the principals I learned in AA served me well during treatment. A day at a time, Easy Does It, First Things First etc. and of course the Serenity Prayer
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Post menopause
May 2007 Core biopsy, Rt breast
ER+, Pr-, HER2 +++, Grade 3
Ki-67: 90%
"suspicious area" left breast
Bilateral mastectomy, (NED on left) May 2007
Sentinel Node Neg
Stage 1, DCIS with microinvasion, 3 mm, mostly removed during the biopsy....
Femara (discontinued 7/07) Resumed 10/07
OncoType score 36 (July 07)
Began THC 7/26/07 (d/c taxol and carboplatin 10/07)
Began Herceptin alone 10/07
Finished Herceptin July /08
D/C Femara 4/10 (joint pain/trigger thumb!)
5/10 mistakenly dx with lung cancer. Middle rt lobe removed!
Aromasin started 5/10
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Old 02-24-2013, 08:42 PM   #20
kvogler
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Re: Thoughts on drinking alcohol

Well, I decided to quit all alcohol. I was a light drinker who had just started a year before the diagnosis. But I really don't like the taste of it good enough to get past the "what if" factor. Sweets on the other hand is a vice of mine that is much harder to tame. But if someone chooses to partake in moderation, I'm not raising an eyebrow. It's a personal decision.
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