A myeloma patient weighs wine warnings, food recalls, and cancer risks
It can be hard to know what’s safe to eat or drink these days
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I live in Southern California wine country. It’s harvest season here. Workers are plucking grapes from acres of vineyards, sending them off to the crush pads to be turned into whites, reds, and rosés.
In the middle of all this activity comes a new report about alcohol and cancer deaths. “U.S. Cancer Deaths Linked to Alcohol Have Doubled Since 1990, Study Finds,” declares a headline from the University of Miami, where the research was done. It’s just one of a series of worrying recent headlines about what we eat and drink.
Is it safe to go back to the produce aisle?
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says the cyclospora outbreak — with nearly 13,000 cases in 21 states — is over. Two people died. As I write this, no one knows how this parasite got into iceberg lettuce.
But that’s not the last of the foodborne illnesses the CDC is currently tracking. It’s investigating outbreaks of salmonella and E. coli linked to frozen blueberries, jalapeños, alfalfa sprouts, and broccoli sprouts.
I haven’t been this concerned about shopping for produce since my son outgrew his “veggies are evil” phase. I’m in remission from myeloma, but I’m still immunocompromised, with a greater risk of infection. So what do I do to stay safe? Skipping fruits and vegetables is not an option.
For now, I’m keeping an eye on recalls.
A bottle of red, a bottle of white
The University of Miami report about alcohol and cancer deaths does not list myeloma. But some of our treatments put us at risk for other cancers. There’s no “one cancer per customer” rule, as much as I wish there were!
I have a weakness for sweet wines, like my grandmother who had a glass of port with dinner every night. Unlike my Nona, I don’t drink every night. It’s more like once or twice a week on average. How much risk is there in that occasional glass of locally produced white cabernet or sangria?
My doctors have always advised moderation. The CDC says a single nightly drink is all right for women, and two or fewer drinks per day for men. But the agency says no alcohol at all is even better. The Breast Cancer Research Foundation says even one drink a day can increase by 7-10% a woman’s breast cancer risk, which already stands at 13% for women, according to the American Cancer Society (ACS). The ACS also says alcohol use is the third most common potentially avoidable cause of cancer, behind smoking and obesity.
And no, sangria and other red wines are not cancer preventers, though they may have some heart benefits.
So what do I do?
The logical answer here is to simply stop drinking alcohol, right? That’s easier and healthier than giving up fruits and vegetables.
Plenty of people are going dry these days. Gallup reports a record low in U.S. drinking rates. I certainly can abstain. I did during treatment.
But logic doesn’t have all the answers. There’s an emotional factor, too. I associate some wines with specific memories or people. Chardonnays remind me of my mom, who liked a nice white wine and the occasional beer. Reds remind me of Nona and her port. Sangria evokes memories of a long-ago trip to Mallorca.
I also remember my dad’s belief that there’s not much point to life if you can’t enjoy it.
For now, I’m sticking to what my doctors have told me: moderation in all things.
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William Kowalski
Had so much taken away from me by my multiple myeloma treatments, my compromised immune system, and as of this summer, my heart attacks, I now am pursuing a diet as fat-free as possible, no red meat, no cheese, PIZZA IS, no bowl of popcorn, nothing, which is going to end up in my arteries. And I’m not supposed to swim in pools or spas, I’m not supposed to be in crowds, I’m not supposed to eat anything raw, such as sushi. and I’m not supposed to eat ice cream because of the saturated fat. And chocolate’s gone too for the same reason. So here I sit with my piece of grilled chicken, my plain steamed broccoli and my sour-cream-free potato, thinking, you better not touch my glass of wine if you know what’s good for you.