Who designed these pre-op waiting-area curtains? What kind of experience does my gastroenterologist have—I didn’t do any research on him? Will this be the last time I’m resting on an afternoon during the busy holiday season? When will I get wheeled into the procedure room? How much longer until I can sink my teeth into a piece of Rick’s Pizza? These were the questions circling around my brain as I waited to get a routine cancer screening this past Tuesday. After having to endure the pre-surgery preparation, I was staring at the mesh topped hospital curtain, ruminating my fate. How did I end up here, now?
How I ended up in this situation is a WHO-dunit, with the WHO being the World Health Organization. Last year it’s guidance on alcohol consumption was that no level of alcohol consumption was healthy. That was quickly followed by numerous news stories about the terrible health outcomes of ANY consumption of ethanol. Reading the Wall Street Journal article “How Much Alcohol Can You Drink a Week and Still be Healthy”, I started to feel that something was stuck in my craw. Looking at the images, the top problem alcohol causes is head and neck cancer. Going further down the GI tract, esophageal cancer risk is linked to drinking ANY alcohol. This kept me up at night. My father died of this type of cancer at the age of 60. If he died then, and alcohol is harder on women, my days were numbered.
As any good hypochondriac does, I immediately consulted Dr. Google. That tickle in my throat was definitely cancer. Update the will now, kiss your family and enjoy your last few days on God’s green earth. I enjoyed the holidays, cherished every moment with my family—in case they were the last ones, ever. The Unified Wine and Grape Symposium came and went, and the WHO guidelines were discussed all the time. Sadly, one of the wine industry leaders I had interacted with recently died of esophageal cancer and she was paid tribute to at the conference. My mind started reeling—if it happened to her, it definitely could happen to me. So, this February I went to the doctor, convinced I was dying of cancer.
“Do you smoke?” my doctor asked. I was thrilled to be able to answer in the negative.
“Do you drink alcohol?”
“Yes, and I work in the wine industry.”
“Well, do you drink a whole box of wine every night?” Again, I was delighted to say no.
“You don’t need to worry about cancer,” she answered. But she referred me to my allergist, who referred me to an Ear Nose and Throat M.D. He was awesome—very funny, very experienced, and we found nothing outside of routine seasonal allergy symptoms. He referred me to a speech therapist to make sure I treat my vocal cords well considering my allergies, and he ordered an Upper Endoscopy, if I really wanted to get checked for esophageal cancer. I put it off.
Months passed. Then the phone rang. The medical office was calling to schedule a scope of my total GI tract. I’m good at advocating for my own medical treatment and knew it was that time in my life to get the dreaded colonoscopy. Colon cancer is a highly treatable, often curable if found early. The American Cancer Society recommends regular screening at age 45. Having no family history of the disease and passing my “mail in” test the last 5 years, it was time to get scoped. And lucky me, they had a spot open in two weeks! I booked it, filled my pre-op RXs and then started dreading the run-up to the big day.
Ok, so here’s the impolite part of this post. You don’t take NSAIDS for 7 days before, stop taking some medicines and supplements, avoid certain food or drink, and then you must fast. THEN you take the RXs. If you are facing a colonoscopy you need to make sure you have free access to a working toilet and plenty of soft toilet paper. Then, after about 18 hours you are feeling ok, and ready to get the procedure over with.
The entire hospital stay was over before I knew it. The doctor gave me a clean bill of health and sent me out to the post-op area. Soon after that I was out the door. My husband drove home via my favorite pizzeria, picked up that Rick’s pizza and a beet and trout salad, and we had a restful evening.
So why am I sharing my health story here? Because the WHO report and other news about the health risks of alcohol consumption have been overblown. As we learned in 1991 from Morley Safer, moderate red wine consumption is healthy. On “60 Minutes” Safer reported about the French Paradox. While we are currently moaning and groaning about the state of the wine industry, what we should really be doing is promoting the benefits of wine. Wine and food, shared with friends and loved ones, is an important social ritual. Accompanying meals and conversation, wine promotes relaxation, slower eating, and conviviality. This is something we need right now.
Don’t think I’m giving you carte blanche when it comes to alcohol consumption. Alcoholism is a serious disease, and abstinence is the best policy if you have it. Heavy drinking also brings serious health risks. As my doctor said, don’t drink a whole box of wine a night. One of my doctors confided that spirits are especially tough on the GI tract. But a glass of wine with dinner, a beer after a fun run, or a cocktail when you are out on the town isn’t the culprit alcohol is being made out to be.
What can you do to limit your health risks? Here’s a good game plan:
- Get screened for cancer and other health issues early. Here’s the American Cancer Society’s guidelines—read em, get to know em, follow them. Early cancer detection is the best way to have a positive outcome.
- Weigh risk factors and make educated decisions.
- If there is one piece of advice I’ll gladly dispense, here it is: Don’t Smoke Tobacco.
- Get regular exercise. You don’t need to be in training for a marathon. Adults should get 150-300 minutes of moderate aerobic activity a week, or 75-100 minutes of vigorous activity plus some strength training. Who says? The Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion within the US Dept of Health and Human Services, that’s who.
- Maintain a healthy weight. Everyone is different. Check out the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute’s guidelines.
Having a clean bill of health is a nice Christmas gift. I wish you a happy and fun-filled holiday, and let’s raise a glass of wine to celebrate with family and friends. Things are gonna be just fine.
Additional reading: Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal by Mary Roach. Mary is a fun writer. She researches her topics very thoroughly and adds great anecdotes. In Gulp she makes her way to UC Davis’s Sensory Analysis Lab, and her writing takes many other twists and turns, starting at the mouth and continuing all the way to the end.
Was this content graphic? Maybe. I got a bit worried when I had to write the word “toilet”. But if you have gotten to the end of this article, and you take action to improve your health, it was all worth it. Thanks for hanging in there with me.
What wine did I toast with after getting that positive report from my doctor. One of my favorites. Cheers my friends!
