Is it ok to drink alcohol while getting chemo?

Question from Caring.com Community Member, vera

Expert Answer by Andrew Putnam

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Andrew Putnam is the director of the Palliative Care Program at Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center and Georgetown University.

The two main dangers of drinking alcohol (assuming you're talking about small amounts of social drinking and not severe intoxication) are the sedative effects and the effects on the liver.

1) Many medications can cause sedation including, among others, pain medications, anti-anxiety meds, anti-nausea meds, anti-histamines, some psychiatric meds and sleeping pills of course. The danger is that the sedative effects of the alcohol will be added to those of the other drugs so you'd sleep much too long or even, in extreme cases, stop breathing altogether. So while not specifically dealing with the chemotherapy, this can be a problem with other medications that the patient may be taking.

2) The liver is necessary to clean the body of many medications, including chemotherapy. Alcohol can interfere with the liver's ability to do its job and the patient can suffer. For this reason, when in doubt, don't drink alcohol.

3) After considering #s 1 and 2, it is important to realize that alcohol is an important aspect of both relaxation and socializing in many people's lives. So ask the oncologist whether in the patient's situation it is safe to have the occasional alcoholic beverage.

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heidiliz answered:

Personally I would not. I am currently going through chemotherapy treatments for breast cancer and have chosen to not drink any alcoholic beverages. I used to enjoy a glass or two of red wine in the evening and and occasional beer on a hot summer day but alcohol is very dehydrating and zaps you're energy. Why not give you're body a break and take this time to get as healthy as possible. If you want the benefits of red wine, drink pure grape juice, it is a good blood purifyer. Also, remember that chemo drugs are very harsh on the liver...adding alcohol can be a double whammy! When alcohol enters the body it is converted to sugar...cancer LOVES sugar and feeds on any type of sugar, another reason to avoid it. One last thing, if you had a drinking problem prior to being diagnosed, now is the perfect opportunity to quit and get as healthy as possible so you can re-create a healthy immune system. I hope this helps. Take care, from someone who cares!