Drinking alcohol post treatment?

Hi DollyP

I struggle with this one too.  I read on here that some oncologists are absolutely fine saying it's ok for the odd glass of wine, so I take my very occasional alcoholic drink on special occasions (probably only had 3 alcoholic drinks in a year), having previously enjoyed wine at the weekends etc.  What made my mind up is studies saying that alcohol interferes with the way tamoxifen works (no idea what level of alcohol you'd have to be drinking for this to happen and I'm no expert), and if I have to take that little pill I want to make sure I'm doing all I can for it to work.  I'm sure there are studies out there that disagree and we are all so different in the choices we make, no one is right or wrong.  Getting a good balance I would say is the aim, and if it's really something you enjoy, don't make yourself miserable.  Goo luck with the rest of treatment!

Hi,  I made the decision to give up completely for the time being - my Chemo nurse told me that my liver would have enough to cope with.

It's not been too bad to be honest - I was one of those who increased their intake during lockdown/wfh so I thought it would be hard.

I do plan to crack open a bottle of champagne when my chemo is done though!

I went tee total the day of my diagnosis. I felt my body would cope better with a lumpectomy, chemo then radiotherapy without alcohol. As someone else mentioned the liver probably has enough to cope with. I have alcohol free wines or beer now. I think if I had one drink I might want another so reckon I’m better without. I think I’ll be on herceptin for a year so want to give it the best chance of working,

I stopped drinking at my diagnosis an only started again a yr later when all treatments were finished.  I now only drink at weekends and don’t overdo it like I used to!!

I’ll probably do the same .

If you Google ‘alcohol and breast cancer recurrence 2023’ you will find that the latest research says that drinking alcohol after a breast cancer diagnosis does not affect prognosis! Personally I feel moderation is the key and despite being told that up to 14 units a week was safe I try stick to 2 or 3 glasses per week. My aunt who was diagnosed 15 years ago with stage one grade 2 cancer has continued to have one drink per day (though she certainly never binges!) and remains cancer free but if going tee total gives you more peace of mind then that’s the way to go! 

I also barely drink for similar reasons and then recently read that a small glass of red organic wine can be beneficial. In the same way freshly ground coffee or dark chocolate have some good things in them too, but consume in moderation. So I might have the odd small glass of wine, but honestly, I don’t fancy it much! 

Thank you so much for your response. I'm on tamoxifen too, hence my concern. It will be really interesting seeing what others have decided to do xxx

I luckily dodged chemo, but am on tamoxifen for 5 to 10 years. I certainly think you 100% should pop open that champagne when you're done with treatment though! Xxx

Thanks so much for your reply. It's really interesting hearing what others are doing xxx