Women aged between 45 and 64 years are invited to participate in the Alcohol and Breast Cancer project run by Dr Emma Miller from Public Health.

The pilot project is looking at how women think about breast cancer and the place of alcohol in their social lives.

Women who are in good health and have never had cancer are eligible to participate.

The study is taking place in response to growing evidence that alcohol has a dose-response relationship with causation of breast cancer, but sits in an interesting space in Australia because of many of the roles that alcohol plays in Australian society and culture.

Breast cancer rates and alcohol consumption among ‘middle-aged’ women (those aged 45 to 64 years) have both continue to increase in Australia.

Despite alcohol consumption having been directly linked to breast cancer, it is difficult to gain social acceptance of this public health message due to cultural factors.

There is a clear need to explore how women weigh up the breast cancer risk posed by alcohol in the context of the ‘alco-genic’ environment in order to find ways to better communicate public health messages aimed at reducing the risk.

The study team will be talking to about 30 women about whether or not they believe that are at risk for cancer, what they think causes breast cancer and how these beliefs might be influenced by the place of alcohol in their social lives.

More information on the study can be obtained by contacting the study team on 7221 8445 or via email at ABCproject@flinders.edu.au.