Breast cancer studies are important to the people of Atlanta and other areas of the United States. Studies have shown that drinking excessive amounts of alcohol can increase a woman’s risk for breast cancer. It is believed that drinking the equivalent of 3 or more drinks a day can be just as much of a breast cancer risk as a pack a day smoker’s risk of breast cancer.
ABC World News (Diane Sawyer) reported “Women who consume as few as three to six glasses of alcohol per week may modestly up their risk for breast cancer, a new study suggests.” Studies are done over an extended period of time. They don’t focus on drinking over a few months, but over a period of years.
While wine has many health benefits, moderate to heavy drinking could increase your risk of breast cancer. The Nurses’ Health Study from 1980 to 2008 showed that women who consumed 3 to 6 alcoholic drinks increased their risk of breast cancer by 15 percent. In this study, the alcoholic consumption included beer, wine, and liquor. There was no difference in percentage with the different types of alcoholic drinks.
The effects of alcohol on breast cancer risk are cumulative. The longer you expose yourself to alcohol the more likely you are to be at risk for developing breast cancer. Women who drink at least 2 alcoholic beverages a day were at 50 percent higher risk for breast cancer than women who don’t drink at all. If you think you might be at risk for breast cancer, you are better off not to put yourself at risk by drinking alcohol. If you tend to be a social drinker or a habitual drinker, think twice if you think you might be at risk for breast cancer.
The CDC in Atlanta, Georgia lists the risk factors for breast cancer. The CDC report states that drinking more than one alcoholic beverage per day can put you at risk for developing breast cancer.
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