My oncologist said NO to wine

Interesting.  On what facts and studies did he base his advice?  

But like everything, moderation.  And I do find myself not wanting any drinks for awhile - meaning on chemo (no way ever do I want one) and for a prolonged period of time after disconnect.  I am on three week cycles and most of the time, not interested until a few days before next hook-up.  Some exepctions where get-togethers, but most of the time no desire.  My blood work, however, is really good. I am in really good health.  Except for the one minor issue of having inoperable cancer throughout my body and dealing with the chemo to maintain things.  (Not being flippant about this.  It is something I still try to reconcile now and again.)

NewHere said:

Was Not Told No

But like everything, moderation.  And I do find myself not wanting any drinks for awhile - meaning on chemo (no way ever do I want one) and for a prolonged period of time after disconnect.  I am on three week cycles and most of the time, not interested until a few days before next hook-up.  Some exepctions where get-togethers, but most of the time no desire.  My blood work, however, is really good. I am in really good health.  Except for the one minor issue of having inoperable cancer throughout my body and dealing with the chemo to maintain things.  (Not being flippant about this.  It is something I still try to reconcile now and again.)

A couple of years ago, an anesthesiologist was taking my health history before my very major cancer surgery (APR surgery), and after he found out I had no diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, didn't drink, etc, he literally said, "So you're in very good health!" I cracked up and said, "Well yeah, except for ONE THING!" I understood what he meant though, because I didn't have any of the things that would make an anesthesiogist's life difficult. But I also tend to be "in very good health" except for that metastatic cancer thing, and I find that can be hard for "outsiders" to understand.

abita said:

That is it exactly. Of course

That is it exactly. Of course he is hoping to find a way to "cure" me, but from the gist of this talk and the one after I lost my hair, I believe he is thinking how to keep me alive for the longest time possible. He explained to me that there are many ways to enjoy life without wine It kind of makes me feel good to know that he is thinking that way. It is funny, because I agree for the most part. Don't take cold medicine, allergy meds only if gets really bad, but even before I got cancer, I didn't like taking medicines and now I HAVE to take so that I don't unless I must. But I really wanted to have a glass of wine at my class reunion, or at a dinner with friends at the end of 14 day cycle. But yeah, I am currently of the mindset of doing what it takes to live as long as possible. I wonder if it is a sign that I just listened to a pod cast of a friend's dad who has lived one of the most exciting, interesting lives of anyone I have ever known and he mentioned that he had never even once had an alcoholic drink in his life.

I actually don't drink any alcohol now, but that's just because I have a bile duct problem totally unrelated to cancer. But I DID have sushi the other night, another one of the standard "don't do this while on chemotherapy" items. I justified it to myself by going to a really, really nice place that I knew would be very careful with the quality of their fish...

It sounds like you and I are in almost identical boats right now with metastatic cancer, dealing with Erbitux, hair loss, etc. Slight possibility of a cure, but more probably long-term treatment/control. This makes it very hard to know what to do. Live for the moment? Plan for the future? I find I make different decisions on different days, depending on my mood at the moment.

This is frustrating and disturbing to see.  With all the uncertainties with cancer, I can't believe doctors can't even come to a common consensus with items you consume.  From what I know, the reason why wine may be advised against is because of the anti-oxidants present in it; especially red wines.  If you look up anti-oxidants and cancer treatment, you will see the general guidance of not to intake anything with anti-oxidants as it will lessen the effectiveness of chemo.

You're seeing the same thing with the recent red meat controversy.  All this confusion is creating an environment where questionable alternative medicine practices are able to thrive.  These doctors need to get their act together.