Alcohol and Chemo - Cancer Message Board

DonohueGirls · 08-06-2006, 05:51 PM

Hi,

I was wondering what your thoughts were on alcohol consumption and Chemo.

My dad is a social beer drinker and likes to have a few on the weekends but doesn't drink during the week (athough on the rare occasion he may have a beer after a long day at work). When they asked the doctor about it, he said 'he could have one ocassionally'. When they asked what 'ocassionaly' meant, he replied 'every once in a while'.

Then when they asked the doctor if my dad could drink near-beer or non-alcoholic beer the doctor seemed never to have heard of non-alcoholic beer before. When they asked why he shouldn't drink the doctors reply was 'it probably won't taste good'.

I've search the internet but can't seem to come up with much other than alcohol can interfere with some Chemo drugs - but my dad's not on them. Is there any harm having a few here and there?

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks,
Lynn

Kenai · 08-07-2006, 12:43 AM

If a doctor tells me not to do something while getting treatment to get optimal results, I think I would listen.

SamQKitty · 08-07-2006, 09:39 PM

Lynn,
By "occasional", they usual mean no more than one drink, and no more than once a week or so.

I don't think having one drink (if one can tolerate it at all...chemo does weird things to people) will hurt, but two or three could be a problem. Alcohol can be dehydrating and chemo is dehydrating, so mixing the two could cause some problems.

As for the non-alcoholic beer, I believe it still has SOME alcohol in it, but a very low percentage (like 5%, maybe). Here again, moderation is the key. But he probably could have a couple of non-alcoholic beers as opposed to only one real beer.

Ruth

Mercyrp · 08-07-2006, 09:46 PM

Better consult with a couple of Dr's. My hubby has Leukemia and he could not drink alcoholic beverages at all right before he was diagnosed. It's like his own body was telling him something. I know you need to drink a lot of liquids with chemo. and like his Dr said, "I don't mean beer".