Occasional drink

I don’t think it makes a big difference (see below). The first 10 years I had PC I used to drink a margarita every evening and have a beer or wine with dinner. The thing is, I’ve never had a problem with my weight and liquor. Can really add on the pounds and with ADT that can make it worse..

I went on Zytiga And it caused me to have high blood pressure and Afib Events. That put me on blood thinners, which require that you can only drink 1 ounce a day of liquor or 6 ounces of wine and one beer a day.

I now drink maybe once every couple of weeks a glass of wine or a beer. If I’m with a group that’s drinking, I may have a glass of wine. I may not. No more cocktails, but that’s the blood thinner.

After all the reports about how bad liquor is for you and that it can cause cancer, I have no regrets about rarely drinking. The beverage industry paid to get those reports suppressed for decades, but they finally came out.

Studies show that heavy drinking increases high grade PC incidence by 20%.

I think that occasional drink for special occasions (one alcoholic drink ) will not effect progression BUT one has to be mindful of medications used for cancer treatment and possible interactions.

Hello. Hubby's Oncologist said nothing wrong with an occasional adult beverage but to follow it up with lots of water for your kidneys and liver.

@surftohealth88 Thanks for sharing that. I wonder if the heavy drinking actually increases the risk of prostate cancer, or there's a common risk factor that makes people more prone to alcohol abuse and to prostate cancer? Given recent research shared by the WHO, I think the scientific community is inching closer to an actual causal relationship between medium/heavy alcohol use and various cancers.

We prostate-cancer patients have the added risk that ADT increases susceptibility to type-2 diabetes, so heavy drinking would have a serious — and proven — impact there.

But agreed, I see no issue with an occasional drink. I have a social glass of wine or cider every week or two, and I don't worry much about it (except that I know it will irritate my radiation cystitis slightly; basically, it will feel like a mild UTI a few hours afterwards).

I have metastatic PC. I’ve had several reoccurrences, and I’m finishing my final chemotherapy session this week. I generally am disciplined with my diet and weight, exercise, and stress. But I’ve been a drinker for many years. I gave up the periodic martinis and other mixed drinks, but I really love good red wine. So while I have cut back materially, I still have two glasses of red wine twice a week (4 a week in total). I do have a Heineken zero or other non-alcoholic beer sometimes when socializing or out to dinner. I find the taste great and I really enjoy them.This might be as far as as I’m willing to go!

And while alcohol is listed as a carcinogen, I still struggle to find consistent studies that say it has adverse results specifically on prostate cancer. In fact, I just asked this of ChatGPT the other day and it said the results are mixed and inconclusive.

@florida11 Thanks for this post! I love a glass of red wine every couple of days - but it's usually only a few ounces. I'm also trying to stick to the Cab's as they're lower in sugar.

@ florida11 ..."do have a Heineken zero or other non-alcoholic beer sometimes when socializing or out to dinner."

Michelob Ultra has a zero alcohol beer but only 29 calories versus Heineken 69 or so.

My husband has MCRPC, was first diagnosed in 2005, has been treated at Mayo Rochester since 2011, and has had about every kind of treatment for prostate cancer available. He has never been cautioned by any of his providers about consuming alcohol. He still has wine with dinner or the occasional beer in hot weather.

Any use of alcohol is bad for prostate cancer, with the effect dependent on the amount and frequency. BUT if you are on testosterone reducing drugs that work either through your testicles or adrenals, any alcohol will increase:
Weakening of the immune system
Increased blood pressure
Increased mood swings
Increased risk of stomach ulcers and gastrointestinal bleeding
Increased risk of liver damage or failure
Interference with calcium absorption
Increased fatigue
Increased risk of seizures
Depression
Increased blood sugar
Increased frequency and intensity of hot flashes (caffeine too)

If your alcohol consumption is more important to you than lowering these risks, 🥂 CHEERS 🍻. Quality of life is personal and subjective and for those of us with PC extremely important!

@jimgaudette Thanks Jim!
The reason I asked is that although I almost never drink, I did have a drink on a cruise vacation a couple days after I started Firmagon. Didn’t even think about it at the time. We were at Castaway Cay and it was hot. But I don’t want to do anything to make my PCa worse.