| The American Cancer Society estimated that in 2008, | | | | Body image is more of an issue. Should she have |
| 182,460 females in America will be diagnosed with | | | | reconstructive surgery or not? How will she pay for it |
| breast cancer. Approximately 10,000 of these | | | | if she doesn't have insurance? Cancer treatment can |
| females will be under age 40, and 23,000 under age | | | | mean time out of work. How will she survive without |
| 45. The incidence for females under 20 is even | | | | an income? If she's planning a family, what is |
| fewer. Young women are definitely not immune from | | | | chemotherapy going to do to her fertility? What if |
| this disease. | | | | she does get pregnant? What if she's pushed into |
| For females ages 15-39, breast cancer accounts for | | | | early menopause by chemotherapy? That's a |
| 26% of all cancer, and in the 35-39 year old age | | | | problem if she wants children. Early menopause may |
| group, it accounts for 39% of all cancer. And it's the | | | | also raise the risk of osteoporosis and heart disease, |
| leading cause of death in young women between the | | | | which are typically seen in older post-menopausal |
| ages of 15 and 54. These statistics sound scary. But | | | | women. |
| before you panic, let's take a closer look. | | | | Is there anything a young woman can do to prevent |
| To make this simple, let's say we have 100 females | | | | breast cancer? As with older women, risk factors |
| in our 15-39 year-old age group. Every one of these | | | | determine if the odds are stacked for or against you. |
| 100 female has some type of cancer (pancreatic, | | | | The more risk factors, the higher the chances of |
| lung, leukemia, etc.). Out of these 100 females with | | | | getting breast cancer. Some risk factors, like genetics |
| cancer, 26 of them will have breast cancer. The | | | | or gender, can't be changed. Other risk factors, such |
| remaining 74 females will have some other type of | | | | as consuming the so-called "meat-sweet" Western |
| cancer. Out of those 26 females, 10 of them (39%) | | | | diet (high fat, meat, sugar, milk, bread, dessert), lack |
| will be between 35-39 years old. The remaining 16 | | | | of physical activity and obesity, are changeable. |
| females will be 15-34 years old. | | | | Exercise alone has been shown to decrease risk |
| So, although breast cancer is the main cause of | | | | 30-40% for average and overweight women! Eating |
| death for females between the ages of 15 and 54, | | | | a diet high in soy foods has been shown to decrease |
| the younger you are, the less likely you are to | | | | risk in premenopausal women, including teenagers. So, |
| develop it. In fact, if you are younger than 19 years | | | | simply taking care of your body will go a long way to |
| old, your chances are an extremely slim 0.00025%. In | | | | minimizing your risk of breast cancer. |
| other words, out of 100,000 females under 19, 25 of | | | | Yes, young women, including teens, can develop |
| them will develop breast cancer. This is according to | | | | breast cancer. But, the odds are low. The best |
| the National Cancer Institute. | | | | advice to minimize your risk is to live a healthy |
| When a young woman is diagnosed, her concerns | | | | lifestyle. Eat right, don't do drugs, don't smoke, don't |
| tend to be different than the issues and concerns | | | | drink, exercise regularly, and keep your body fit. Pay |
| facing older women. In a younger woman, the cancer | | | | attention to your body, so you will recognize any |
| is more likely to be very aggressive, more advanced | | | | changes. And, if something seems suspicious, see |
| and have a lower survival rate (see my article You | | | | your doctor right away. |
| Don't Have to Have a Lump to Have Breast Cancer). | | | | |