Hi, Everybody,
I have been wondering the same thing myself. I never smoked in my life, they ran an HPV test on me when I had my surgery, and that was negative, and my drinking was a glass of wine when I would be watching TV in the evening or reading - I would also have a margarita when my husband and I went to a Mexican restaurant. Now that I am (slowly)recovering, I am almost afraid to even have one glass of wine. I even hesitated about the communion wine in church.

Hi, I just had my 26 month check-up and as at every visit they asked if I had drank any alcohol, their thoughts are that we should not give the BEAST any excuse to return. They have stated that they connot prove 100% that a drink now and then is harmful after Tx, but neither can they say that it wont hurt either, so they would rather I not dink any alcohol at all!! Hope this adds a little more info for you. Semper-Fi Bob

Bob. how did the check up go??

Everybody should keep in mind that it's not the consumption of the alcohol that's dangerous, it's the irritation that it causes to the head-neck cells that does the damage.

I once asked an oral surgeon if that meant that from a cancer perspective, shooting alcohol directly into my veins would be OK as compared to putting it in my mouth. He said that was a strange way to look at it, but yes, avoiding the mouth is the way to go. Little did either of us know that putting it in my PEG would be a choice in my future!

Don't overlook avoiding mouthwashes with alcohol -- You get all the bad effects with none of the good effects <g>.

I personally believe that alcohol was a key factor in my OC because I stopped smoking 25 years before I stopped drinking.

An interesting topic indeed. My RO has been adamant that I not drink alcohol. A glass of champagne on new year's maybe but that's it. She maintains that the cancer and/or RT have made me more susceptible to re-occurence, this despite the fact that mine was most likely an HPV-caused primary. She is in my opinion a fantastic doctor and I trust her implicitly.

However the MO I saw intially was of the opinion that I could drink in moderation if I felt like it. Since I ended up not needing chemo I only saw him a few times so didn't get more clarification. He's also a brilliant guy and a professor at UCLA.

I've been erring on the side of caution. But maybe it's time to rethink?

D2

I was never (well at least since my 30's or 40's lol) a big drinker but I did walk around with a mouthfull of Lysterine every morning for at least 1/2 hour before I spit it out and I thought that numbing feeling in my mouth was good. I can't dismiss it as a possible link to my OC.

Re the drinking, all of my docs at Moffitt think moderation is fine. I maybe have a beer or 2 a month now. Maybe I'll have a couple tonight with Jerry and his son. He doesn't know it yet but I plan on trying to drag his butt to our Waterfront District after dinner tonight.

I was not a big drinker as it caused patches of eczema and I generally reacted poorly to alcohol and I never smoked or chewed. I also came up HPV neg...so really I'm of the mind that life's too short anyway to spend my time worrying about whether anything I do will bring this crap back. I certainly avoided the 3 major risk factors before and still ended up with it.

I say drink up and enjoy life while you can my dear and don't take it too seriously because nobody gets out alive anyway! This topic actually reminds me of a Mark Twain quote: "The only way to keep your health is to eat what you don't want, drink what you don't like, and do what you'd rather not." I lived like this and still drew the short straw C'est la vie.

Bottoms Up!

Eric

Seda,
In AA we would have called you a "normie". I know a fair amount of OC survivors that have an occasional drink. Probably not a major risk factor, at least if you wait until all of your tissues are healed.

I can't drink because I have HCV on top of it. One drink will throw my STOG levels over a cliff...

Needless to say I have not had a drink in 15 years and I don't miss it.

EricS

well, I raised a glass of wine to Toast your becoming an official "Above & Beyond" member (you have always gone above and beyond in my estimation) in front of my new fire pit last night.

Gary
Well HCV was a new acronym for me. No one can argue that given the effect of Hepatitis C virus on the liver, there is no such thing as a "moderate amount" of alcohol for HCV patients.
You are a real trouper to endure both cancer and HCV

Clark tried alcohol on a few occasions but found that it burned his mouth and the taste was altered. As a result, he has lost interest in anything alcoholic. A vanilla milkshake is his preferred "vice".