My partner is verging on alcoholism after diagnosis. I thought I heard somewhere that patients can't drink alcohol during radiation. Is this true?

Alcohol during treatment is a suicidal idea. At one year post, my docs said that two beer or wine drinks/week is now ok. Alcohol is a large contributor to this disease. Something about the alcohol drying out, and then the changing of those cells.

Kristie, He's stressed out of his mind, and using alcohol to cope. Rob's right about it being a causitive factor and her certainly will not be able to even look at alcohol much less drink it once the mouth sores begin from radiation.

Encourage him to talk frankly to his Doctors about the drinking, and about some help with the stress. He needs help with both, right now
Wayne

Kristie, I 2nd Wayne's suggestion. I quit smoking because I couldn't imagine going through all of this only to keep myself at high risk. To many people put in time and prayers for my life, I felt like it would be really rude to be puffing on a smoke while they were trying to help me live.

I would imagine that if he weakens his body with alot of drinking his treatments will be very difficult. Here's the fact of the matter. If he has been drinking heavily for an extended period and he is planning on starting treatment, his dr.s better know what is going on. Withdrawals from alcohol can be very difficult. Combined with treatment side effects I would imagine they would be terrible. I speak about the alcoholism from experience, I am not a dr.

I'll just say it flat out. If he's drinking like a fish why is he bothering with treatment for cancer? First it is a huge risk factor and secondly alcoholism is a deadly disease as well. It sounds like someone needs to ask him that sobering question of "are you ready to die?". We all handle coming to terms with cancer a little different but what we have in common here is the will to fight with all we have in us. If we are down we help pick one another up. Your partner is down and he needs some help.

I tell people like it is when it comes to alcoholism and addiction. They are deadly diseases just like cancer. There are places that can help him, If he needs it. The hardest thing is that he has to be the one who decides he needs it.

With all that said, there is a serious medical situation with alcohol withdrawals for someone who has been drinking for along time. Added with stress, depression, and cancer makes it even more dangerous. I hope he will talk with his doc's about all of this. Good Luck to you.

You asked if he COULD drink during treatment not if he should,and the simple answer to that is yes he can,and if he is anything ike my husband he will!!!There was only a very short period of time when Rob physically couldnt swallow a beer and i hoped the damage to his taste buds would make him hate the stuff but as fate would have it he never had a problem with his taste buds so was back on it as soon as he could swallow again.The moral and ethical issue is a different matter,and the answer to that is also quite simple .NO he definately shouldnt,but i hope you have more luck persuading him not to than i did!!!

thank you so much everyone for your feedback.
I'm trying my best to get him to cut right back and then stop. He knows its not helping and doing damage to his liver.

Kristie, when I was having rad, the techs told me about one patient who smoked out in the garage until his treatment time, and always came in inebriated. They told me that the treatments were just useless and they wished they didn't have to treat him, as what he was doing completely canceled out any good they were providing. I hope that you can impress upon your partner the seriousness of his chosen course of action. Good luck!

One thing for your partner to consider: cancer is HUNGRY for sugar. Alcoholic beverages are, in large part, sugars -- which why you want to avoid alcohol if you are struggling with weight gain.

Everytime you take a drink of sugar, of any sort, you are feeding the cancer what it wants.

That is, in my opinion, a pretty sobering thought.

I wish someone would find the long thread on cancers and sugar consumption... the negative impact of which was debunked at great length here several years ago. If it were so bad, then we couldn't eat just about anything since our body converts them into sugars.

May be of interest?

http://web.cancernutritioninfo.com/main.cfm?ID=1347

Cheers!

Tizz