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

thanks everyone. I'm pleased to say that my partner has really reduced his amount of drinking from 3/4 a bottle a day to 3 drinks of spirits or 4 or 5 beers. A huge improvement. I hope he keeps it up.

I just completed chemo and radiation for stage 2 tonsil cancer caused by HPV virus. My doctor said absolutely NO alcohol EVER AGAIN. Alcohol is a carcinogen

Aside from the fact that alcohol is a causative factor, and the fact that it will HURT when he gets those mouth sores, I just want to point out that if he is taking prescription pain meds, those are very dangerous to mix with alcohol. What would normally be a small amount of alcohol that he could handle is amplified by the pain meds and the combination can shut down the brainstem in a very short time span and be literally deadly. Please please be careful about this.

Nelie

If radiation has the same effect on his taste buds as it has mine, you won't have to worry. The first sip of beer I took a few weeks after treatment had to be spit out. It tasted as though it was full of sugar. Now, almost one full year post Tx it still tastes that way and the same goes for wine. No great loss for me though as I was a very seldom drinker at best. I just miss having a Tecate with my Mexican food. It's just ice water for me now. Good luck with the crisis.

Bill D.

Alcohol during treatment is going to really really HURT!! Why do you think the doctors tell you to use only alcohol-free mouth washes etc. during treatment? It will irritate and prevent the damaged tissues from healing. It will exacerbate those mouth sores.

Also, if your partner was a heavy drinker prior to diagnosis, the alcohol may well have been a contributory factor in his cancer. If he is depressed and anxious then his doctors may well want to prescribe an anti-anxiety medication -- many on this forum (in USA) were given Ativan (not sure equivalent in Aus). But (as Nelie posted) many of these drugs should never be taken with alcohol!

Excessive alcohol use is a causative factor in some oral cancers, but not all. My husband had an HPV+ cancer and his MO told him that he could drink in moderation (in social occasions) once his throat healed. Alcohol was not a factor in his disease. He (and I) drink 4 oz. of red wine every other day as we are both on a Mediterrean diet.

BUT -- anyone who has a drinking problem, (whether they choose to admit it or not) must not drink again. This is a health issue beyond oral cancer -- it will kill you in the end. I would strongly suggest that he speak with counselor or psychologist at the hospital about getting help for this as well.

Gail

This is a great reply from Gail, but I want to mention one more thing. We have had people here with comapnions that put the alcohol in their PEG tubes... dependencecy, addiction, what ever you want to call it, needs to be addressed and it can't usually be done cold turkey emotionally at a high stress time like this except though fear. For those that does not work on, the relief that they get from alcohol has to be dealt with/substituted through other meds like Gail suggested until their emotional issues can be brought under control.

Considering that he will probably be prescribed morphine and other serious pain meds, I would really try and get him to discuss his addiction issues with his health care providers. The last thing you want is him replacing vodka with narcotics to dull his emotional pains. I know there was more than one night that I was tempted to just swig down a whole bottle of roxicete, and it was only my optimism and drive that prevented this...the same things that keep me from being an alcoholic.

I've seen my husband go through the horrors of tonsil cancer on top of alcoholism.

He completed treatment in November 02, and continued drinking until July of 04. Although he obtained remission, and continues to smoke, I can't help but think that it was very detrimental to his health.

Another suspicious spot has presented itself close to his initial tumor. We are presently awaiting results of his most recent biopsy.

Love,
Mandi

I really am happy to say: I am CANCER FREE today!

More than anything I am SMOKE FREE for ever !!

How many times those of us that smoked wished we could quite. My cancer sure helped me out with that! Nothing like quitting the hard way.

It is my understanding that abusive drinking will only work against you in the long run.

Well thats my 2 cents worth.
Take care,
Diane