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Can You Drink Alcohol During Cancer Treatment?
By Raveena M Prakash
Alcohol consumption increases the risk of cancer. People who love to drink alcohol often face the risk of cancer due to their habit of drinking. Alcohol consumption is one of the preventable risk factors of cancer. Cancer risk can increase even if you are drinking beer, wine, or liquor. However, drinking small amounts of alcohol causes cancer risk in people. The risk of cancer can be prevented entirely by quitting the consumption of alcohol. Alcohol is a Group 1 carcinogen, which can cause cancer easily in humans! Many patients are concerned about whether they can drink alcohol while undergoing treatments. If you are also concerned about whether it's safe to consume alcohol while receiving treatment? Then read further!
In this article, we’ll discover more about the connection of alcohol and cancer, types of cancer caused by alcohol, and what happens when a patient drinks alcohol during cancer treatments.
Types of cancers linked to alcohol consumption
Alcohol consumption is considered the major risk factor for causing cancer in people. There are some cancers that are formed due to an extreme use of alcohol.
These may include:
- Mouth cancer
- Throat (pharynx) cancer
- Voice box (larynx) cancer
- Colon cancer
- Rectum cancer
- Esophagus cancer
- Liver cancer
- Breast cancer
- Stomach cancer
How does drinking alcohol raise the risk of cancer?
Alcohol acts as an irritant in the mouth and throat of people. People who used to drink alcohol excessively, their cells are tirelessly working to repair the damage caused by it. This condition often leads to DNA change and eventually leads to cancer in their bodies.
Alcohol often changes into acetaldehyde once it reaches the body. Acetaldehyde is a major chemical component known to damage the DNA. Many studies claim that drinking alcohol can cause oxidative stress in the body. This causes the body to release a large amount of free radicals, also called harmful oxygen molecules. This situation can damage the inside of the cells, leading to cancer risk.
Alcohol and its byproducts damage the liver, which causes damage in the liver. This often leads to inflammation and scarring (liver cirrhosis). Once the liver repairs the damage, it might make some mistakes in the DNA, which further leads to cancer. Additionally, there are several other ways alcohol can increase the risk of cancer in people. However, it majorly depends on the type of cancer.
These may include:
- Changes the way the body absorbs or emits harmful chemicals: The alcohol helps other chemicals to enter the cell lining of the upper digestive section of the body more easily. One of the common chemical substances is tobacco smoke. Many studies claim that one of the most dangerous combinations is drinking alcohol and smoking cigarettes. This is more likely to cause mouth and throat cancer in people.
- Reducing the absorption of folate and other essential nutrients: Drinking alcohol might affect the body’s ability to absorb essential nutrients such as folates and other vitamins. Folate is a significant vitamin that makes cells stay healthy and strong. However, low levels of folate in the body increase the risk of some cancers, including breast and colorectal cancer.
- Increase estrogen levels and other hormones: One of the long-term effects of alcohol is increasing the levels of estrogen in the body. Estrogen is a main hormone connected to the growth and development of breast tissues in women. Increased estrogen levels might affect women’s likelihood of developing breast cancer.
- Increase body weight: Drinking excessive alcohol might add extra calories to your diet, which eventually leads to weight gain in people. Excessive weight or obesity is linked to the cause of certain types of cancer.
What happens to patients drinking alcohol before and after treatment?
Many studies claim that alcohol use increases the risk of developing certain types of cancer. However, it isn’t clear yet whether patients’ consumption of alcohol after the cancer treatment might increase the risk of cancer recurrence in patients. However, some studies claim that there is a possibility of cancer recurrence in patients who consume alcohol after their treatments. Drinking alcohol often raises the levels of estrogen in the body. This often increases the risk of recurrence in breast cancer patients.
There are several conditions where alcohol consumption should be completely avoided in patients.
These may include:
- Cancer patients develop symptoms such as mouth sores. Alcohol consumption can easily irritate mouth sores. In some cases, it can get worse because of alcohol consumption.
- Patients undergoing cancer treatments might face issues when alcohol interacts with several drugs, which increases the risk of several side effects.
For patients completed their cancer treatments
The effects of alcohol and its risk of cancer recurrence are not clear yet. However, if you are planning to start alcohol consumption, then consult with your oncology team to avoid any future complications.
If you have completed the treatment of larynx, head and neck, liver, mouth, and throat cancer, many cancer specialists suggest a complete avoidance of alcohol during the cancer healing or post-treatment journey.
Regardless of any type of cancer you have completed treatment on, drinking alcohol can increase the risk of new cancer, also known as second cancer.
What are the long-term effects of drinking alcohol?
Drinking alcohol causes short-term and long-term effects on both cancer patients and non-patients. People who consume alcohol might have noticed some side effects; these are short-term side effects. These include changes in mood, fluctuations in concentration, and imbalances in coordinating activities.
Excessive drinking habits of alcohol might lead to the development of serious health issues in people. Once people suddenly stop consuming alcohol, this can create withdrawal symptoms in the next few days. These symptoms may include tremors, confusion, hallucinations, and seizures.
The long-term side effects of alcohol consumption may include:
- Inflammation (hepatitis) and heavy scarring (cirrhosis) in the liver
- Liver failure
- Pancreas damage and brain damage
- Increase the blood pressure.
- Weakens immune system
Consult Today
Managing the risk of cancer, there is no alcoholic drink better than others. Every type of alcoholic drink, including beer, wine, and liquor, contains ethanol, which is known to increase the risk of cancer in people. During cancer treatment such as chemotherapy, if any patient consumes alcohol, this can worsen the side effects of chemotherapy.
At Oncare, we offer proper guidance to our cancer patients before starting any major cancer treatments. We provide professional advice for patients who have a habit of drinking alcohol and how it would affect the treatment outcomes.
If you or any loved ones of yours are experiencing the symptoms of cancer, then visit Oncare Cancer Center and book an appointment with a cancer specialist today! Get an estimated cost of cancer treatments today!
Frequently Asked Questions
The consumption of alcohol is often connected with the cause of cancer in many people. These may include:
- Mouth
- Throat
- Voice box
- Esophagus
- Liver
- Colon and rectum
- Breast
- Stomach
Every type of alcohol consumption increases the risk of cancer development in people. These may include beer, wine, liquor, and other drinks. However, when it comes to analyzing the risk of cancer development in patients, the type of alcohol won’t create much risk, while the amount of alcohol will affect the cause of cancer. Another important risk factor is whether the alcohol contains ethanol; it might increase the risk of cancer.
There are some conditions which increase the risk of cancer in high risk groups of people.
These conditions may include:
- Cause damage to body tissues
- Changing how the patient’s body absorbs or emits harmful chemicals
- Minimizing the absorption of folate or other nutrients from the body
- Increasing estrogen levels or other hormones
- Increasing overall body weight of people
People consume excessive level of alcohol might cause health issues including:
- Inflammation leads to hepatitis, and heavy scarring, also known as liver cirrhosis, eventually leads to liver failure.
- Increase in blood pressure
- Heightened level of heart disease and stroke
- Weaken immune system