About alcohol again, you may not want to know..

[fullofbeans]

There was no ref but it said:

"Does alcohol affect the immune system?

Alcohol impairs their normal function of the B-lymphocytes. They produce antibodies in the blood. It takes only two drinks to reduce antibody production by two-thirds.
A group of white blood cells called Natural Killer cells (NK cells) are also weakened by alcoholic drinks.
Rats were injected with breast cancer cells.
Some drank alcoholic drinks to produce a blood alcohol level of 0.15% about equal to a human adult drinking four or five drinks per hour.
Others drank more producing a 0.25% blood alcohol level.
A third group drank no alcohol.
Those that drank at the lower level had twice as many cancerous tumors as the non-drinking rats.
The higher level drinkers had 8 times as many tumors."

http://www.newstarthealthcare.com/article.php?id=73



But it seems that alittle red wine might be ok:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/1999/08/990806074512.htm

[Unregistered]

I have been reading all the entries on this web site for a while now, have to respond. No one knows really what causes this kind of breast cancer, it is a total mystery. However, while it does make sense not to drink to excess, a glass of wine or two a week is not going to cause a recurrence, that is clear. I met a woman who was a vegan, no alcohol, etc. for 35 years and had HER2 breast cancer. It make sense to eat healthy, avoid too much sugar, alcohol, meat, and get some exercise, like anyone who wants to stay healthy, but to point to a drink or two (or even three or four) a week as cause for recurrence or a cause is ridiculous - so, don't drink anything, but eat only junk food, and then you are okay? I think like everything else, it is a balance, we all need to stay healthy, eat healthy, lots of vegetables and good fats, not do anything to excess, and take care of ourselves.

I also have been through all the treatment for this disease (surgery, chemo, herceptin), all I have been told by my doctors is that they don't know what causes HER2 breast cancer, and my own research validates that. I also think it is so complex, on a molecular level, we don't know why it may recur in some but not others, depends on the particular pathways, markers that gave rise to the disease in the first place, much of which is out of our control. And it is different for all of us. It is not our fault, not in terms of getting it, and not if it recurs, so all this talk of avoiding this or that, including alcohol, in moderation, is silly. We should all try to be healthy, all the time, but to think we can completely control the outcome does us no service.

I think a better focus would be to demand, as a whole, that this country spend a lot more money on cancer research.

[LibraGirl]

Some of the recent studies have been depressing (the latest one reported that even 1 drink a day could raise recurrence risk substantially, somewhere around 12% I think).

On the other hand, there is no guarantee that if we do all the right things we won't have a recurrence. I am a vegetarian, non-smoker, distance runner, and very sporadic drinker, yet I still got breast cancer. There are so many other factors. For now, I am going to continue to enjoy the occasional glass of wine or beer.

I am having a similar struggle about how much soy is in my diet, but I am going to discuss this with a nutritionist and my onc before making any radical changes.

[AlaskaAngel]

I am glad for posts sharing information about various studies regardless. That is one of the best things about this forum -- being able to share what we see and then individually consider whether it is useful on a personal basis, and sometimes debate it.

Because it appears that the rats have never had the drastic immune system compromise of chemotherapy or radiotherapy prior to collecting the information about their health after alcohol, I wonder what the results would be like if they had.

So for me, in that sense it might mean the information is important in playing more of a role for those who now have had chemotherapy than it did in terms of getting cancer in the first place.

Thanks for posting the info, FOB.

AlaskaAngel

[LibraGirl]

Yes, thanks for sharing this info FOB. Both studies are food for thought.

[fullofbeans]

I for one refused a last evening a casual sunday evening glass of wine ( or 2) with a friend thanks to knowing the effect of alcohol on the immune system (instead I had green tea!).

I however had quite a bit of wine the evening before because it was a birthday party and wanted to be amongst the dancing crowed.

I am glad to be informed, that is all, I can make informed choice and yes indeed thank you AA and Librag I am happy too indeed to have this board to exchange info.

It also motivates me, and keeps me on track.. since most of my friends do not have a second thought about a drink or 2 each time you meet any of them (and I go out often). I have taken to order mineral water with ice and lemon and people are happy thinking it is a gin and T there is so much pressure to drink over here.

And yes off course you could be ultra healthy and an alcohol fascist and still get a recurrence or primary cancer, otherwise it would be a cure...and brocoli, aerobic and tea party would be a hit..how quaint would that be..:-) ! but yes looking after your immune system by knowing what is or not good for it makes sense to me.