The connection between alcohol and breast cancer existed at the time of my diagnosis. Nothing conclusive, just a possibility, yet enough for me to forgo that occasional cold beer in a frosty mug at dinner and that sometimes social drink. I don't want cancer. Once was enough.

I think I’ve made the right drinking decision. Just this past Monday, findings from a large U.S. study—the biggest of three major studies on the topic—revealed this: Alcohol consumption leads to an increased risk of the most common type of breast cancer in postmenopausal women.

OK, I’m not postmenopausal, and I didn’t have the most common type of breast cancer—the kind fueled by hormones—but I will go through menopause one day. And I could develop a hormone-sensitive tumor. These facts are enough to secure my choice to remain a non-drinker for all of time.

This new research found that women who consumed one or two small drinks per day were 32 percent more likely to develop a hormone-sensitive tumor. Three or more drinks per day: 51 percent.

Toss the trans-fats. Ax the alcohol. Neither is worth the risk.