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WILL OCCASIONAL TIPPLE BRING BACK DISEASES?

SUFFERER: Trisha Goddard has been diagnosed with breast cancer

Tuesday April 29,2008

By Dr Rosemary Leonard

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AFTER being successfully treated for breast cancer a number of years ago, I try to live a healthy lifestyle by paying attention to my diet and taking regular exercise.

I enjoy a couple of glasses of red wine a week – usually with my evening meal – but I recently read that even one glass a day can increase your risk of developing the disease.

As a former sufferer, am I at extra risk? Should I cut out alcohol altogether?

It has been known for many years that drinking too much alcohol can increase the risk of breast cancer and concerns about the amount that women are drinking is one of the reasons the Government has decided to launch a publicity campaign to make women more aware of the link with breast cancer.

Research suggests that the risk for a woman developing breast cancer by the age of 80 is 8.8 per 100 for non-drinkers, 10.1 per 100 for those who have two drinks a day and 13.3 for those who have six drinks a day.

It is true that just one drink a day can increase the risk but only by a small amount – it’s much greater for those who drink a lot, especially more than the recommended 14 units a week.

The exact way in which alcohol affects the breast is not known but it is thought it may be because it can slightly alter the levels of hormones in the body, including oestrogen, which is known to affect breast tissue.

Any woman who has had breast cancer is slightly more at risk of getting it again – either in the same breast or in the other one, so theoretically drinking any alcohol will add to this. But the increased risk from just two units a week will be very small indeed.

Not only that but a small amount of alcohol can help reduce your risk of heart disease and there is also the “feelgood” factor to consider.

In the end, it is up to you to decide whether that little bit of wine is adding to your quality of life, or whether you wouldn’t really notice if you switched to something non alcoholic.