In the four years that I have been sober, I have known 3 people that have died and at least a half dozen more that have been diagnosed. What is going on? Is there a correlation between them? Is it that we did so much damage to our bodies while we were drinking that it can no longer fight off the rampaging cancer cells? Studies show that yes they are more than likely related.
I found this article on About.com, Alcohol and Cancer. "...considerable evidence suggests a connection between heavy alcohol consumption and increased risk for cancer, with an estimated 2 to 4 percent of all cancer cases thought to be caused either directly or indirectly by alcohol." It goes on to say, "studies show that alcohol may affect cancer development at the genetic level by affecting oncogenes at the initiation and promotion stages of cancer. It has been suggested that acetaldehyde, a product of acohol metabolism, impairs a cell's natural ability to repair its DNA, resulting in a greater likelihood that mutations causing cancer initiation will occur. It has recently been suggested that alcohol exposure may result in overexpression of certan oncogenes in human cells and, thereby, trigger cancer promotion."
Not a very happy subject I know, but I just received news of a lovely lady in the program who was just diagnosed with stomach cancer and yet another last week who is so riddled with it, they aren't sure where it started. I really am not sure how to feel about all of this...did I beat it? Did I stop drinking in time? I realize of course that I can not live in fear of "what if I get cancer?" because if I live in that kind of fear, I might as well be drunk because Goddess knows I won't be living anyway. So I will keep doing what I am doing and pray for those who are sick and just be thankful that I am healthy today.
Blessings,
~T
