Treatments for breast cancer can result in physical changes to a young woman’s body. Here, one young woman affected by breast cancer discusses her experience with the physical side effects of her breast cancer treatment.
This year in Australia, close to 800 women under the age of 40 will be diagnosed with breast cancer.
Compared with older women, young women are…
- typically diagnosed with more aggressive types of breast cancer, such as basal-like and HER2-positive breast cancers
- more likely to have their breast cancer come back, or spread to other parts of their body
- more likely to die from their disease
- at higher risk of developing breast cancer in both breasts.
- Some research suggests that the hormonally-driven changes that occur to a young woman’s breast during menstrual cycles, pregnancy, and breast feeding, may influence in the development of breast cancer in young women.
Download our report on ‘breast cancer in your 20s & 30s’ (part of our 800 Young Women project, 2014) here.