Perspective on alcohol use and cancer risk

This study isn’t going to become part of my discussion about the pros and cons of alcohol consumption. For those who have the time, here’s why: First, it isn’t because some of the cancers attributed to alcohol use aren’t serious––they are. Anyone who has had a loved one with cancer of the esophagus (swallowing pipe) knows this to be true. The problem is in the context in which I counsel about the role of alcohol in my patient’s lives. For a few, alcohol is nothing but bad news, and this study doesn’t add to what we already know. For these individuals, the challenge is that I don’t have especially effective tools to help these patients remain alcohol free. For others, the problem isn’t chronic abuse but bad judgment when they do drink. So called binge drinkers can function very well day-to-day, but whether they drink once a week, once a month, or once a year, when they do drink they may not realize their impairment as they get in their car to drive home. For these patients, I assess their risk (for example, are they drinking more than they say they are) and spend a lot of time making them aware of the potential risk and discussing specific strategies to put in place well before the first drink is consumed. For most of my patients in whom alcohol isn’t misused, the question is how to frame the health effects. I’ll admit to an occasional glass of wine after a long day at work. Then, there is the so-called J-shaped curve of heart disease-related death sayi...
Source: New Harvard Health Information - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Behavioral Health Cancer Prevention alcohol use Source Type: news