Between 1950 and 1995, the occurrence of breast cancer in young women has increased by 55 percent and continues to increase at a rate of 2 percent each year, according to the National Cancer Institute. Of the two million women expected to develop breast cancer this year, over 700,000 will be under the age of 40. Even though more women in their 50s get breast cancer, young women are more likely to either need a mastectomy or die from it, said Dr. Rache Simmons, a breast surgeon at Strang-Cornell Breast Center in New York. . I'm a cancer specialist, and I can't tell you how many times I've heard women say they were told by their doctor that a lump was nothing or that they were too young to have breast cancer, only to go to a specialist and find out that they had stage two cancer or worse. The goal is to get young women in the habit of doing self-breast exams .
Breast cancer threatens women of every race, every color and every age.
But the best defense is to catch it early. Studies show that when cancers are new and small, they are usually confined to just one area of the breast, and can be removed, leaving the breast intact. The American Cancer Society estimates that up to 80 percent of all breast cancers are found by the women who have it. Not by doctors, and not through the use of diagnostic equipment. Doctors recommend monthly self-exams, about a week after your period ends, when your breasts are not tender or swollen.