I remember in medical school, every time we discussed cancers linked to alcohol, it felt like just checking off another box on a list of risk factors. We would mention it briefly, maybe even as an afterthought, like it was just one more part of the picture. almost as if alcohol’s impact on cancer risk was just an inevitable reality, not something that could actually be changed.
But that casual approach can lead us, even as future/healthcare professionals, to forget just how damaging alcohol is when it comes to cancer. It's easy to gloss over the fact that alcohol is classified by the IARC - International Agency for Research on Cancer / World Health Organization as a Group 1 carcinogen, in the same league as tobacco. That’s not small. Yet, in our training, alcohol’s risks can feel muted, and we're often left unprepared to educate patients or advocate for preventative measures.
This matters because if we don't fully grasp how closely alcohol is tied to cancer and how much it affects public health, we’re less likely to make it a priority in our conversations with patients. If we, as doctors, don’t really get the scope of harm that alcohol brings, who will?
So shouldn’t we be talking about it more openly and honestly and not just listing it, but really understanding its impact, so we can help people make informed choices about something that truly could be changed?
Did you know that alcohol causes 7 types of cancer? And the more you drink, the higher the risk. 🎗️
Is it worth it? Know the risks, redefine your understanding of alcohol.
Want to learn more about the harms of alcohol? Visit our #RedefineAlcohol campaign here: https://bit.ly/3zD2i33
#LessAlcohol #EVIDAction
