Adolescent Drinking and Breast Cancer

Many breast cancer survivors can lament over hours upon hours trying to figure out, “why me?”  And the countless studies pointing to alcohol consumption, not having children, and the like, can leave you with more questions than answers. 

Case in Point: A recent study suggests adolescent drinking adds to risk of breast disease, breast cancer

Girls and young women who drink alcohol increase their risk of benign (noncancerous) breast disease, says a study by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and Harvard University. Benign breast disease increases the risk for developing breast cancer.

 The study showed that the more alcohol consumed, the more likely the participants were to have benign breast disease. Girls and young women who drank six or seven days a week were 5.5 times more likely to have benign breast disease than those who didn’t drink or who had less than one drink per week. Participants who reported drinking three to five days per week had three times the risk.

More questions than answers.

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