Ordinary Vegan Podcast #95-Alcohol and Cancer Risk - Should You Be Concerned?

In today's podcast, Dr. Noelle LoConte discusses the relationship between alcohol and cancer.

According to the American Cancer Society, alcohol use is one of the most preventable risk factors for cancer. They further state that alcohol use accounts for about 6% of all cancers and 4% of all cancer deaths.  For many cancers, the more alcohol you drink, the higher your cancer risk. But for some types of cancers, in particular breast cancer, consuming even small amounts of alcohol can increase the risk.

Furthermore, BreastCancer.org warns women that as little as three alcoholic drinks per week give you a 15% higher risk of breast cancer compared to non-drinkers.

Most people don't realize that tipping back a beer, wine, or a cocktail could increase their cancer risk.

Noelle LoConte, M.D., specializes in the relationship between alcohol and cancer. She is the first author on the American Society of Clinical Oncology policy statement on alcohol and cancer and has served on the ASCO prevention Committee.

Dr. LoConte is an Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center in Madison, Wisconsin. She completed medical school at the University of Illinois at Chicago, did her internal medicine  internship at UW, and completed her internal medicine residency at Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland, Oregon.  Her clinical interests are in medical oncology, and she maintains a practice in gastrointestinal cancers.  Her research and outreach interests are in cancer control across the cancer continuum, and she is the principal investigator (PI) for the Wisconsin Comprehensive Cancer Control Program.  Through this work, she chairs the action plan on alcohol for Wisconsin.

Today's podcast will encourage us to take an honest look at the connection between alcohol and cancer along with:

• Pema Chödrön quote from - "When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice For Difficult Times"
• How much alcohol increases the risk of cancer
• What kinds of cancer are connected to alcohol
• How alcohol causes cancer
• The relationship of alcohol and breast cancer
• How alcohol increases levels of estrogen
• Head, neck, and esophageal cancer
• Alcohol and cancer treatment
• Alcohol and mortality
• "The Undying" A book by poet Anne Boyer about her battle with breast cancer
• Cancer and Covid 19
• The four main rules of practicing oncology

Thank you for joining me today.

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I would also like to thank Forager for sponsoring this podcast.