giving up alcohol?

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blackswampboy
blackswampboy Member Posts: 341
in Head and Neck Cancer #1
no brainer, right? I mean, the first two questions the oncologist asked were, "do you smoke?" and "do you drink?"
but is there some small amount of drink that eventually could be tolerated without risk? like one guinness per month? or every three months?
I asked my oncologist about this, and all he said was that it's going to be a long time before the throat can tolerate alcohol...
so what is it, are we teetotalers now?
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  • phrannie51
    phrannie51 Member Posts: 4,716
    #2
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    I can't even take pop.....
    I imagine a beer would be that times 5, considering there's alcohol in it. I've heard of some folks pouring a beer down their tubes, or drink...on special occasions.

    I'm a teetotaler anyway.... did my lifetime allotment of alcohol by the time I was 35, and then did some more for another year...

    p
  • Pam M
    Pam M Member Posts: 2,196
    #3
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    Well . . .
    I cannot tolerate liquor anymore (well, it's been months since I tried - but I couldn't drink it several months after treatment). I do, on occassion, have part of a beer with no issues now. I only have part of a beer because it tends to fill up my tummy; there's no discomfort when I drink it.
  • Greend
    Greend Member Posts: 678
    #4
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    Smile
    I have never been a serious drinker but would meet some of my former military buds at times for a beer. Now I have a peg so I decided to see if I could "drink" a beer. Stupid thing foamed when I tried to pour it down the tube. :>)

    Told my wife it was all for the calories (and I only read Playboy for the articles)
  • Tonsil Dad
    Tonsil Dad Member Posts: 488
    #5
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    Greend said:

    Smile
    I have never been a serious drinker but would meet some of my former military buds at times for a beer. Now I have a peg so I decided to see if I could "drink" a beer. Stupid thing foamed when I tried to pour it down the tube. :>)

    Told my wife it was all for the calories (and I only read Playboy for the articles)

    I have.
    Good question, I used to drink quite a bit and I know the first
    question the ask is " do you smoke, do you drink "? well there
    are so many on here who did niether and still got the dreaded
    'C', so yes I agree they maybe contributing factors but I firmly
    believe most cancers are caused by a ' comprimised Immune System'
    Anyway back to the drink, I have a beer or to with the lads once a
    week in the local pub... I only drink Bud Light as I don't have much taste
    and I like Guinness & Boddingtons and don't want to try it yet and be put off it for
    life...lol.
    I go to a Tikki bar on the ocean every Sunday to relax with the
    steel drum music, sand, ocean and oh yes a beer or two.
    I wouldn't tell enyone to drink, my Ent told me not to - so its
    up to you . I drink carbonated water anyway and it soothes the
    throat, beer has the same effect so thats my story and I'm sticking to it.......lol.

    God bless
    Tonsil Dad,

    Dan.
  • Irishgypsie
    Irishgypsie Member Posts: 333
    #6
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    Tonsil Dad said:

    I have.
    Good question, I used to drink quite a bit and I know the first
    question the ask is " do you smoke, do you drink "? well there
    are so many on here who did niether and still got the dreaded
    'C', so yes I agree they maybe contributing factors but I firmly
    believe most cancers are caused by a ' comprimised Immune System'
    Anyway back to the drink, I have a beer or to with the lads once a
    week in the local pub... I only drink Bud Light as I don't have much taste
    and I like Guinness & Boddingtons and don't want to try it yet and be put off it for
    life...lol.
    I go to a Tikki bar on the ocean every Sunday to relax with the
    steel drum music, sand, ocean and oh yes a beer or two.
    I wouldn't tell enyone to drink, my Ent told me not to - so its
    up to you . I drink carbonated water anyway and it soothes the
    throat, beer has the same effect so thats my story and I'm sticking to it.......lol.

    God bless
    Tonsil Dad,

    Dan.

    :)
    Life is short do what makes you happy!
  • Skiffin16
    Skiffin16 Member Posts: 8,305 Member
    #7
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    Cheers....
    I have a beer or two occasionally (primarily imports, I'm not big on the domestic beers).

    From everything I have read or been told, chances of getting cancer or recurrence for an occasional drinker aren't really significant compared to everything else that could be a factor.

    But, I'm not professional MD, so do as you do.

    That's my story and I'm sticking to it....

    JG
  • boardwalkgirl
    boardwalkgirl Member Posts: 269
    #8
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    I am not that far yet as
    I am not that far yet as to being able to try but when I can, I will. I have thought about putting wine down the tube but hated to waste good wine when I can't taste it. I have never drank on a routine basis. Maybe a glass of wine a couple of times a month and some mixed drinks when on vacation and I will be on vacation in December, I love the happy little drinks at Disney.
  • shoemandan1
    shoemandan1 Member Posts: 19
    #9
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    a beer here and there
    My treatment ended a year ago this month. So I went from Feb 2011 to this past May without drinking at all.My Nephew was up visiting from Tennessee and we were having a family get together and a beer sounded good. So I popet the lid on a beer and slowly drank it.Even though I enjoyed it it tasted a little bitter, probably do to only having about 80% of my taste buds back and I did have another.I had a couple at a social event a couple of weeks ago.
    I met my new ENT this past Friday and she ask if I drink or smoke. I said an accaisanal beer now and than but it don't taste as good anymore she smiled and said its from the radiation. my feeling on this is once you can tolerate it, keep it in moderation.
  • katenorwood
    katenorwood Member Posts: 1,912
    #10
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    Beer...!
    Yes....everything in moderation. A beer once in awhile tastes pretty good, now that I can I mix it with clamato juice.. And no it doesn't taste the same anymore...issues with saliva glands, taste buds whatever. But am not a heavy drinker anymore either. No hard liquiors ever again. So cheers once in awhile....that's my story and I'm stickin to it. Katie
  • KareGiver
    KareGiver Member Posts: 301 Member
    #11
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    katenorwood said:

    Beer...!
    Yes....everything in moderation. A beer once in awhile tastes pretty good, now that I can I mix it with clamato juice.. And no it doesn't taste the same anymore...issues with saliva glands, taste buds whatever. But am not a heavy drinker anymore either. No hard liquiors ever again. So cheers once in awhile....that's my story and I'm stickin to it. Katie

    No wine, but...
    beer tastes good to my husband. He used to enjoy wine and a gin and tonic but no more. As he has chemo every three weeks now, the beer is in only the last ten days of the cycle. I won't EVEN go into the "karegiver's" imbibing ;)
  • tommyodavey
    tommyodavey Member Posts: 727 Member
    #12
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    phrannie51 said:

    I can't even take pop.....
    I imagine a beer would be that times 5, considering there's alcohol in it. I've heard of some folks pouring a beer down their tubes, or drink...on special occasions.

    I'm a teetotaler anyway.... did my lifetime allotment of alcohol by the time I was 35, and then did some more for another year...

    p

    So Funny
    That is precious Phrannie. I say almost the same thing but a little different. "Every person was given a roll of tickets for drinks, I used all mine up by my 32nd year." And no, no loans allowed.

    Tommy
  • sonyk728
    sonyk728 Member Posts: 124
    #13
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    Irishgypsie said:

    :)
    Life is short do what makes you happy!

    Agreed!
    This has been one hot summer and I have been enjoying beer. This time last year I was in radiation. I refuse to give up everything.
  • Mikemetz
    Mikemetz Member Posts: 465 Member
    #14
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    Time will tell
    I could not even imagine having a drink of alcohol during and well past the end of my treatments. And, when I did sip on a beer about two months after treatments ended, it really tasted bad. Wine and spirits were out of the question for a long time--wine tasted bad and spirits, even in mixed drinks, was way too strong.

    Eventually I got back my taste for most wines and some mixed drinks, but like everything else for HNC patients, it was "try and see" to figure out what I could taste and tolerate. I still can't tolerate high tannin wines like cab sauvignons, but can tolerate "soft reds" well.

    As with almost everything with HNC, each of us recovers in different ways and to different degrees, and it's all about learning how to live with the "new normal" as a cancer survivor.

    Beer in your PEG tube? What were you thinking? ;)

    Mike
  • George_Baltimore
    George_Baltimore Member Posts: 303
    #15
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    Mikemetz said:

    Time will tell
    I could not even imagine having a drink of alcohol during and well past the end of my treatments. And, when I did sip on a beer about two months after treatments ended, it really tasted bad. Wine and spirits were out of the question for a long time--wine tasted bad and spirits, even in mixed drinks, was way too strong.

    Eventually I got back my taste for most wines and some mixed drinks, but like everything else for HNC patients, it was "try and see" to figure out what I could taste and tolerate. I still can't tolerate high tannin wines like cab sauvignons, but can tolerate "soft reds" well.

    As with almost everything with HNC, each of us recovers in different ways and to different degrees, and it's all about learning how to live with the "new normal" as a cancer survivor.

    Beer in your PEG tube? What were you thinking? ;)

    Mike

    Beer drinkage
    It took a few months before the beer didn't burn my throat but it did get there. That was back in 2005. Right now, I can't swallow anything however, I have been known, on occasion, to pour a beer or a little hard liquor down my g-tube just to clean it out mind you .
  • Mikemetz
    Mikemetz Member Posts: 465 Member
    #16
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    George_Baltimore said:

    Beer drinkage
    It took a few months before the beer didn't burn my throat but it did get there. That was back in 2005. Right now, I can't swallow anything however, I have been known, on occasion, to pour a beer or a little hard liquor down my g-tube just to clean it out mind you .

    Good thought
    Using liquor to clean out the tube DOES make sense ;).
  • BrianKrashpad
    BrianKrashpad Member Posts: 188
    #17
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    switched
    I switched over to NA (non-alcohol) "brew." This isn't quite the same as quitting entirely, since they do have a tiny amount of alcohol (like each can/bottle is equivalent to 1/10th of a beer's alcohol) in them. But basically you never get inebriated.
  • patricke
    patricke Member Posts: 570
    #18
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    DOWN THE HATCH
    Hey blackswampboy, I'm a long time tuber, and I like to say "if it flows, it goes." I must say that beer and wine do flow very smoothly down my PEG tube, which happens almost daily with dinner. As you have heard in many other comments, moderation is the watch word; I usually have one, or two at the most. Another consideration regarding the alcohol consumption discussion, which interests me, are the research reports about the health benefits of "moderate" alcohol consumption, and, of course, I must do what benefits my health. My esophagus was reconstructed last year, so after many years I was finally able to actually enjoy the taste of a beer and glass of wine, which was great, but due to speech prosthesis issues (I also had a laryngectomy last year), I am only able to sporadicly enjoy the oral inbibing experience. So, I guess you need to play it by ear, or maybe nose, no wait, that would be throat. Cheers!
  • CivilMatt
    CivilMatt Member Posts: 4,722 Member
    #19
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    one down the tube
    You cats are wild. Next thing I am going to find out is you’re having PEG tube chugging contests. Tell me, can you pass a breathalyzer after using the PEG (or should I call it the KEG tube). I forgot all about the (no) taste buds and drinking beer, so I guess that is ruined now also. Matter-of-fact, how about iced tea, does it suck too.

    Cheers,

    Matt
  • Skiffin16
    Skiffin16 Member Posts: 8,305 Member
    #20
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    CivilMatt said:

    one down the tube
    You cats are wild. Next thing I am going to find out is you’re having PEG tube chugging contests. Tell me, can you pass a breathalyzer after using the PEG (or should I call it the KEG tube). I forgot all about the (no) taste buds and drinking beer, so I guess that is ruined now also. Matter-of-fact, how about iced tea, does it suck too.

    Cheers,

    Matt

    Tube Chugging...
    Now Matt that does remind me of some party times back in the Marine Corps....

    Let's just say that mass quantities of beer were consumed at high rates of speed, usually involving a funnel and long tube filled with a lot of beer.

    JG
  • ratface
    ratface Member Posts: 1,337 Member
    #21
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    Skiffin16 said:

    Tube Chugging...
    Now Matt that does remind me of some party times back in the Marine Corps....

    Let's just say that mass quantities of beer were consumed at high rates of speed, usually involving a funnel and long tube filled with a lot of beer.

    JG

    The theory of "Cancerization field"
    exists and you can google it. It pretty much states that once bitten you are pretty much screwed or at least at much increased risks. It is however a theory. That said I still enjoy my cold beer!

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