Alcohol is a carcinogenic, such as tobacco. However, of course, one may smoke or drink and never develop cancer. With the type of cancer I was diagnosed with my oncologist instructed me to never try daily red wine consumption to reduce heart disease risk. Preventing cancer from recurring is more important in my life.
Diet is blamed for much cancer-the thoughts of hormone injected and pesticide ridden crops. I think back on my childhood and our foods. I wish I had learned to garden and can foods from my parents. We raised and canned everything--pinto beans, corn, green beans, cabbage, krout, pickles, jellies and jams, canned sausage, potatoes, and on and on. Store bought-I'd never eaten anything from a box or can until adulthood. I'd never had mac and cheese until I was 19 and Chris made it for me. Both my father and mother's sides of the family have a history of much cancer. Different forms of cancer which in no way could be related to just one risk. Perhaps a reason for the cancers was the high percentage of tobacco use of their generation (Great Depression Era), perhaps it was genetic, perhaps the community in which they were raised had something in the ground, (though in my opinion not likely in the rural community with no chemical hazards. Plus I don't know if the other families had such a high incidence). The families would be interesting to study though I bet no one could narrow down to one risk/cause factor.
What is the history of my breast cancer? Why did I have it? Hmmmm...lets see if we can narrow down to risks-one or more. I was 38 when diagnosed. Very young. I never had a drink of alcohol until I was 30. Following 30 I might have had five drinks per year and never any following age 38. I never smoked. I grew up on home grown foods throughout the 70s and 80s. After two rounds of genetic testing I'm certain my cancer was not genetic. I was an active person-farm chores and horse back riding seven days per week. My diet has always been high fat. Growing up I was very thin-at times underweight. I did take birth control pills for a short time. I never had children and thus never breast fed.
Who knows why I developed breast cancer. I'll never know. Looking back that was the hardest time of my life in many ways. But also the best-because of developing the knowledge of how much I was loved and also seeing that yes, I am a strong person. Everyone must be vigilant in all areas of their lives to maintain the overall health they can. Diet, environment, exercise, etc. As one with a high risk for reoccurring breast cancer, fat intake concerns me. (Along with avoiding alcohol.) One feeder of my cancer was estrogen-which is produced in fat cells among other things. My diet should be low fat and weight controlled to reduce my risks. Higher weight=more fat cells=increased recurrence risk.
Note: Remember before you go through genetic testing for breast cancer risk that only 5-10% of all breast cancer is genetic. There are reasons to be tested-for example if you have breast cancer you'll need to know the ovarian cancer relation. Just keep in mind that just because you test negative doesn't mean you will never suffer from breast cancer. And if you test positive, before you do something drastic, think about the facts of risks of cancer. No matter the circumstances, nothing in life can be narrowed to just one cause and effect.
