Nearly Half of Cancer Survivors Still Drink Alcohol
A national survey found 45.8% of U.S. adults with a cancer history reported recent drinking in both 2016 and 2024.
Updated on Nov. 7, 2026 in Cancer
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A study of nearly 4 million U.S. adults found that 45.8% of those with a cancer history reported drinking alcohol in the past 30 days in both 2016 and 2024. Among adults without a cancer history, drinking declined slightly over the same period, from 53.9% to 51.5%.
Why it matters
Alcohol is a known cause of several cancers, including cancers of the mouth, throat, esophagus, liver, colon, rectum and breast, so ongoing drinking among survivors is relevant to their long-term health. The findings were announced by Washington University in St. Louis and add to a picture of how drinking habits look among people living after a cancer diagnosis.
This is a survey-based analysis of nearly 4 million U.S. adults from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, comparing 2016 and 2024 responses for people with and without a cancer history. Because it relies on self-reported drinking and cancer history and uses repeated snapshots rather than tracking the same individuals, it shows trends across groups but cannot show how any one person's drinking changed after diagnosis.
The players
Washington University in St. Louis
A private research university in St. Louis whose researchers conducted and announced this study on cancer survivors and alcohol use.
Cancer Causes & Control
A peer-reviewed epidemiology journal that published the study on drinking patterns among U.S. adults with and without a cancer history.
The details
Researchers compared drinking trends from 2016 through 2024 for people who said they had ever been told they had cancer and for those who had not, asking about recent drinking in each group. Survivors were less likely than other adults to binge drink, and drinking was lower for people with most types of cancer, with exceptions for survivors of testicular cancer, melanoma and other skin cancers. Alcohol is recognized as a cause of several cancers, which is why drinking patterns after a diagnosis draw attention.
Timeline
2016: Start of the comparison period, when 45.8% of cancer survivors reported recent drinking.
2024: End of the comparison period, when 45.8% of cancer survivors again reported recent drinking.
Oct. 30, 2026: Washington University in St. Louis announced the findings.
Health Landscape
National survey data has become a primary tool for tracking how health behaviors change over time across the U.S. population. This analysis applies that approach to cancer survivors, a group whose drinking patterns carry particular weight given alcohol's established link to several cancers.
If you have a cancer history, this is a good topic to raise with your doctor, who can talk through how alcohol fits into your individual risk and recovery. Because alcohol is linked to several cancers, asking your care team about current drinking guidance is a reasonable step regardless of how much you drink.
The takeaway
Drinking remains common among U.S. adults with a cancer history, and survivors drink at about the same rate as those without a history. A practical step is to bring your drinking habits up with your physician, especially if you have had cancer.
Further reading
For more on how cancer and daily health habits intersect, explore the Cancer section.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Curetoday.
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