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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.
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