The Colon Club

Hello fellow members, sorry I don’t post much because I don’t feel like I have much to offer to all you insightful folks but I was wondering how many of you still drink alcohol after being diagnosed? I really enjoy a good glass of wine or 2 sometimes but I have also read that that you should not drink alcohol as it increases your risk of colon cancer. Given that all of us here have already had cancer do you think continuing tdrink occasionally increases your risk of recurrence?
Angela

I’m not concerned about it. I have a mixed drink or two a couple times a month.

I drink wine at the very least 3x a week. Not "drunk" but a good buzz. Two bottles a week for sure.

I think when they say that they mean excessive alcohol usage. A drink here and there can’t hurt. During chemo I hardly drank at all because it wasn’t appetizing. I maybe had 1-2 glasses of red during my good week. Now that I am done I have maybe 3-4 drinks a week. I’m not worried about it.

https://www.indystar.com/story/news/201 ... 366394002/

I don't drink every day. But if I'm at an event with alcohol I will have a mixed drink or some wine. I didn't really during treatment just because I didn't feel like it.

I had cancer over twenty years ago. That is when I stopped drinking. Ron.

KimT wrote:I’m not concerned about it. I have a mixed drink or two a couple times a month.

Same here, a few beers a week, sometimes a night with two, when out with friends celebrating something. I look at it like this- I did not go through all that crap to not enjoy things I like. Alchohol is not going to cause the cancer to spread if it is still in me (and I'll regret not enjoying life if things go get worse) and I am getting yearly scopes, so while there is data that shows alchohol can help cause polyps to form faster (as stated earlier- seems to be linked to heavy drinkers), the odds are they will be caught and snipped out. Moderation...

I have not had cancer only a semi nasty polyp, but I pretty much stopped drinking after that. I sometimes drink half a glas if vine, but I always get a bit angry at myself if I drink more, I want to take good care of my body and try to prevent more polyps and eventually cancer... I know that’s not how it always works, but alcohol doesn’t provide anything good, but it can give pleasure and life enjoyment which is also very important!

I have also stopped eating red meat, though I still enjoy it on special occasion

I drink a glass of red wine in the weekend, with meals. But only if it is good wine
Actually, I even found a paper stating that one red wine glass per day during radiation helped with side effects. Obviously it was from an Italian team

Claudia

I agree with the comments of the group, do what feels good. Nothing I have read indicates moderate drinking has any connection to cancer. Stress, anxiety they are bad for head and heart which are so important to kicking this disease.
Cheers,
Susan

I normally drink a few ounces a year. I haven't had any alcohol since diagnosis.

I stick with the "everything in moderation" philosophy. There's actually a lot of evidence that moderate drinking can have various health benefits. However, pretty much anything is bad for you when taken to extremes.

DH had a few margaritas last weekend while we were on vacation in Florida. Even had the permission of his oncologist! Perhaps a dozen a day isn't the way to go because it would too much pressure on liver.

I have a cocktail at sunset a few days a week, and occasionally some wine. Never drank more than this, and I don't feel it played a role for my cancer

Thank you all for the replies. Those were my thoughts exactly but wanted to make sure I wasn’t missing anything