For years the health dangers of regular alcohol consumption have been weighed, and it has long been known that the more a woman drinks, the higher her relative risk for developing breast cancer becomes. According to the American Cancer Society, women who have just two to five drinks weekly have about one and a half times the risk of women who drink no alcohol, and even women who only have a drink a day have higher risk than those who don’t. In other words, the more a woman drinks, the more her odds of breast cancer increase.
What is more recently known, is that alcohol is so intimately tied to this disease that it is also linked to a higher incidence of breast cancer recurrence. Under Marilyn Kwan, Ph.D., Kaiser Permanente completed a study of breast cancer survivors and alcohol consumption which showed clearly that drinking more than even three glasses of alcohol a week–regardless of whether it was beer, wine or liquor–increased a woman’s risk of breast cancer recurrence significantly. If the woman was post-menopausal or overweight, the risks grew even more.
This is important for any woman struggling with the disease of alcoholism and even more important for those who have a history of breast cancer personally or within their family. Chronic alcohol consumption, over-indulgence and alcoholism (regardless of the type of alcohol consumed) can be deadly for many reasons. We now know that for women, breast cancer is among them.
If you or someone you love is abusing alcohol, it’s time to get help. Mt. Regis Center is an alcohol and substance abuse treatment facility, which offers a free, confidential mental health and addiction assessment over the phone. A trained clinician is available to speak with you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Call us 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Call (702) 646-5000 or toll-free (877) 774-4557.