Alcohol Use And Cancer Among Women

Although it may appear to be incredible to many, a clinical study involving as many as 1.3 million British women has suggested that consuming alcohol, even in moderation, is likely to augment the perils of having few specific types of cancer. It may be mentioned here that a team of British scientists investigated adult women at different breast cancer examination health centers regarding their alcohol consumption patterns and followed their health conditions for seven years.

While nearly 25 per cent of the women surveyed said that they did not take any alcoholic drink, each of the remaining respondents said that they had less than three drinks daily. On an average, these women reported that they had at least one alcoholic drink every day. From the data collected, the research evaluated women who drank the least, say two or lesser drinks every week, against those who drank more heavily. It was shocking to note that every additional alcoholic drink a day only enhanced the risk of some type of cancers like the cancer of breast, liver and rectal. According to the findings of these researchers from the University of Oxford that was published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, the risks of having these types of cancer were irrespective of whether the women consumed beer, wine or liquor.

In fact the finding by the researchers from the University of Oxford confirmed the results of some earlier studies, but with a slight variation. While the earlier researches established that people who smoked as well as consumed alcoholic drinks were at the peril of having oral cancer and cancer of the esophagus, the new study established that consumption of alcohol could also cause breast, rectal and liver cancers. The new study also suggested that even women who drank moderately faced the risk of having thyroid cancer, renal cell cancer as well as non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (a cancer that begins in the lymph system cells).

The general risk of having cancer is quite insignificant when we take the instance of an individual woman, but is terrifying when we look at the global scenario. Researches have shown that around 118 out of every 1000 women in the developed nations have cancerous growths of any of the cancer types mentioned above. And the risks increase when these women consume an additional alcoholic drink a day. To be precise, each extra drink a day adds 11 cases of breast cancer and 4 of the other types of cancer daily. According to the findings of the study conducted by the researchers at the University of Oxford, taking the entire population in consideration, at least 13 per cent of these types of cancers in Britain may be attributed to alcohol consumption by women.

Contrary to the older view that drinking alcohol in moderation was good for the health of the heart, the new research points out at the dangers of consuming alcoholic drinks even in moderate amounts. It may be noted here that according to the health directives in the United States women are warned against consuming more than one alcoholic drink a day. However, men have been permitted to have two drinks daily as compared to the women; they are supposed to burn up the alcohol in their system in a different way.

According to Dr. Philip J. Brooks, a researcher on alcohol and cancer at the National Institutes of Health, every one needs to balance their eating and drinking habits. He says that when people are aware of the information regarding health hazards posed by consumption of alcohol, they are able to consult their physicians regarding the different health hazards they might have to face if they do not follow the guidelines. Hence, it is advisable that each one of us must check with a competent doctor before continuing with our drinking habits.