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6 facts about alcohol and cancer every woman should know

It’s responsible for 1 in 8 breast cancer diagnoses.

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WHEN WE THINK ABOUT alcohol in Ireland, it often tends to be closely linked to its positive aspects – relaxing with wine at dinner or drinking pints watching the match. However we don’t often talk about the negatives – which can include some pretty sobering health risks.

What you may not realise is that alcohol is a confirmed carcinogen – meaning it is known to cause cancer. The National Cancer Control Programme (NCCP) reports that 900 cancers cases in Ireland are attributed to alcohol and around 500 people die from these diseases every year.

And the truth is that the more you drink the higher your risk – cancer risk is related to drinking alcohol whether you drink a lot in one night or whether you spread your drinks out over a week. Here are the facts we know about alcohol as a carcinogen.

1. Alcohol causes 1 in 8 breast cancers in Ireland

shutterstock_444523276 Shutterstock / funnyangel Shutterstock / funnyangel / funnyangel

Possibly the most stark of all of these facts. And if you didn’t realise that alcohol can cause breast cancer, you’re not alone: according to the HSE, only 27% of women are aware that their risk of breast cancer increases as a result of heavy drinking.

For breast cancer and for cancers in parts of the body that come into direct contact with the alcohol – the mouth, throat, voicebox (larynx) and oesophagus (foodpipe) – even light regular drinking increases the risk. That risk then increases further the more you have to drink.

2. Alcohol is a known cause of seven types of cancer

shutterstock_271845803 Shutterstock / Syda Productions Shutterstock / Syda Productions / Syda Productions

Alcohol is known to increase your risk of developing mouth, throat, voice box, oesophagus, liver, colon and rectum and breast cancer.

This is because alcohol is converted into a toxic chemical called acetaldehyde, which damages DNA and stops our cells from repairing this damage.

Alcohol also weakens the body’s ability to break down and absorb a variety of nutrients that may protect you against cancer. These include vitamin A, folate, vitamin C, vitamin D and vitamin E.

Lastly, it increases the levels of some hormones in the body, such as oestrogen, which particularly increases the risk of breast cancer.

3. Women are at a higher risk of harm from alcohol than men

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Unfortunately, women have a higher risk of health problems from alcohol than men and the problems are likely to start earlier. This is because women’s bodies absorb alcohol faster than men’s.

If a woman drinks the same amount as a man, the alcohol in her blood will be more concentrated because she has less body water to dilute the alcohol than a man does. Women also have a higher proportion of body fat, which does not absorb alcohol as well as muscle and have fewer of the enzymes that break down alcohol.

4. If you drink and smoke, your chances of getting cancer of the mouth, throat or oesophagus are far greater

shutterstock_549797728 Shutterstock / file404 Shutterstock / file404 / file404

If you smoke as well as drink alcohol, your risk of certain cancers is even higher. Cigarette smoke contains over 70 cancer-causing chemicals. When it’s mixed with alcohol, it increases the chances of developing certain cancers more than alcohol or cigarettes by themselves.

Because alcohol is a solvent, it makes it easier for these harmful chemicals to enter the cells lining the mouth, throat, larynx (voicebox) and oesophagus (foodpipe), leading to higher rates of cell changes and greatly increasing the risk of cancer developing there.

5. Sorry but there’s no evidence that red wine helps prevent cancer

oscar-soderlund-159357 Unsplash Unsplash

It’s a commonly-held belief that wine, particularly red wine, is somehow better for you than other types of alcohol. But the reality is that your body can’t tell the difference between different types of alcohol such as wine, beer or spirits. It’s how much alcohol you drink that matters, not what you drink.

6. The less you drink, the lower your risk of developing alcohol-related cancers

shutterstock_340277438 Shutterstock / NinaMalyna Shutterstock / NinaMalyna / NinaMalyna

Drinking within recommended limits dramatically reduces your risk of harm from alcohol, and the less you drink, the lower the risk to your health.

For healthy females aged 18-65, the low-risk guidelines are currently 11 standard drinks (110 grams of pure alcohol) or less per week. It’s recommended to have at least two to three alcohol free days a week and to spread your drinks over the week.

Here’s what you can do to help limit your alcohol intake:

  • If drinking at home, use a drinks measure to calculate how much you are pouring.
  • Buy smaller wine glasses, as it will make it easier to drink less and keep track of how much you’re drinking. A big wine glass can hold two standard drinks or more.
  • Try alternating alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, such as a water.
  • Don’t get involved in rounds. This means you can drink at your own pace and stay more in control when you’re out.
  • Try keeping track of what you’re drinking with a drinks diary – note how much you drink, when, and how you felt afterwards.

  • Do something else! Try and think of ways to spend time with friends that don’t have to involve drinking.

Whatever you drink, find out what it’s doing to you healthwise at AskAboutAlcohol.ie, a new website from the HSE about alcohol and how it affects our physical and mental health.

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28 Comments
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    Mute Aurin O'Brien
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    Mar 10th 2017, 6:59 AM

    “The less you drink the lower your chance of developing alcohol related diseases” You don’t say?

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    Mute Stephen Hynes
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    Mar 10th 2017, 8:19 AM

    Someone got paid to tell you that

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    Mute keith thompson
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    Mar 10th 2017, 11:19 AM

    Off the beer since Christmas and feel great ..

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    Mute Fargo Boyle
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    Mar 10th 2017, 4:51 PM

    You keep telling yourself that….

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    Mute Leitrim303
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    Mar 10th 2017, 9:08 PM

    @keith thompson: Im on it right now and feel fabulous

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    Mute jane
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    Mar 10th 2017, 10:20 AM

    I’m shagged so.

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    Mute Soccer T's
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    Mar 11th 2017, 3:06 AM

    If I said I didn’t drink tonight but I took a pill or smoked a joint, most people would be horrified, but I’ve just done less harm to my body than the person who went drinking…..yet we laugh about alcohol…strange society

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    Mute GameOverMan
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    Mar 11th 2017, 7:30 AM

    Very true Soccer Ts… ive used cannabis for 20 years now and im fitter at 40 than i was at 25. My alcohol intake is a fraction of what it was back then. Government know they cant effectively tax a weed so they let their big drink pals poison us with booze to fill their pockets. Plus weed is far, far more economic to use and as for the buzz, well, being drunk is just rubbish by comparison. If your spending a fortune on wine etc. try weed instead. You dont even have to smoke it.

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    Mute DeShawn Jersey
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    Mar 10th 2017, 11:50 AM

    How could they possible be so specific as to know that alcohol causes 1 in 8 cases of breast cancer?

    I’m sure that alcohol consumption increases your chance of getting cancer but this article makes some sweeping statements.

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    Mute Niamh Kenneally
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    Mar 10th 2017, 12:19 PM

    @DeShawn Jersey: I was wondering that too..
    More than a hundred epidemiological studies have examined the link between alcohol consumption and breast cancer risk in women. [Note: Epidemiology is the study and analysis of the patterns, causes, and effects of health and disease conditions in specific populations.]

    These studies have consistently found an increased risk of breast cancer linked to higher alcohol consumption. A meta-analysis of 53 such studies (with a total of 58,000 women with breast cancer) showed that women who drank more than 3 alcoholic drinks daily had 1.5 times the risk of developing breast cancer when compared to non-drinkers. For every 10 grams of alcohol consumed daily, which is slightly less than one drink, a small (7%) increase in the risk of breast cancer was reported.

    Similarly, the Million Women Study based in the U.K. examined more than 28,000 women with breast cancer. According to this study, for every additional drink consumed daily, the increase in breast cancer incidence was roughly 11 per 1,000 women up to the age of 75 years.

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    Mute John Mullan
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    Mar 10th 2017, 7:38 PM

    Probably some crap like scientific studies

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    Mute Thomas heffernan
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    Mar 10th 2017, 7:36 PM

    That’s true alcohol kills people, but how many are born because of it!

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    Mute GameOverMan
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    Mar 11th 2017, 7:34 AM

    Eh… not as many as are killed by it?

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    Mute saoirse janneau
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    Mar 10th 2017, 12:40 PM

    and Alcohol Liver Disease wasnt mentioned so.. double whammy :(

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    Mute Shawn Rahoon
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    Mar 10th 2017, 6:24 PM

    I only drink on two occasions…. when I’m thirsty and when I’m not!

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    Mute Panem et Circenses
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    Mar 10th 2017, 8:19 AM

    Yea, so only women are at risk from drink related cancers?

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    Mute Fank Pulman
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    Mar 10th 2017, 8:26 AM

    Where does the article say that?

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    Mute Panem et Circenses
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    Mar 10th 2017, 9:47 AM

    Erm…The title

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    Mute Niamh Kenneally
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    Mar 10th 2017, 12:16 PM

    @Panem et Circenses: @Panem et Circenses: 6 Facts About Alcohol Every Woman Should Know?
    It says nothing about it being only women.

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    Mute Panem et Circenses
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    Mar 10th 2017, 3:20 PM

    Should it not be “6 Facts About Alcohol EVERYONE should know” though? Should a HSE sponsored article not reach out to everyone as the HSE is a state body?

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    Mute stefanovich
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    Mar 10th 2017, 11:04 AM

    Might as well just fecking kill myself now.

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    Mute Jlocoroco
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    Mar 10th 2017, 2:32 PM

    Red meat gives you cancer too what’s next? Toothpaste gives you cancer?

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    Mute Signe Kristina Kellman
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    Mar 10th 2017, 9:57 PM

    Why is targeted at women when these cancers affect men too? Patronising much?

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    Mute Signe Kristina Kellman
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    Mar 10th 2017, 9:56 PM

    Why is to targeted at women when these cancers affect men too? Patronising much?

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    Mute Panem et Circenses
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    Mar 11th 2017, 12:14 AM

    I was wondering the same and got redtumbed to bejayzuz!

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    Mute Panem et Circenses
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    Mar 11th 2017, 1:10 AM

    Seems like mens health is a taboo subject…

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    Mute Adrian
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    Mar 10th 2017, 9:13 AM

    They’ll be banning alcohol from pubs next! Continuous poor national governance from idiot incompetent parties like FF and FG greatly affect a lot more people’s mental and physical health, the facts are in all the strikes, protests and various national social crisis, and for some, ending in preventable suicide, so we need to fix this issue at source (incompetent politicians) and we might all be healthier. It might fix the hse too cause incompetent harris certainly ain’t gonna do it.

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    Mute Ciarán Ó Duifinn
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    Mar 10th 2017, 11:29 AM

    @Adrian: Ireland has had alcohol problems for hundreds and hundreds of years. If it’s anyone we blame it should be the British occupancy.

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