You have returned to the top of the page.
YOUNG WOMEN
CAN GET
BREAST CANCER
YOUNG WOMEN
CAN GET
BREAST CANCER
TOO YOUNG?
Tarah was in her 20s with a young son when she found a lump in her breast.
She went to see her GP, who thought that it was probably a benign cluster, which are common in younger women. After a series of tests, Tarah was called back to see her doctor. She assumed it was just to discuss next steps and didn't think to bring her husband along for the conversation. She couldn't believe it when her doctor told her she had breast cancer.
"All I could think of was 'how did this happen to me?'
I am the healthiest I've ever been. I'm fit, I don't smoke. I eat well, I don't drink. I have no family history and I breastfed my son. I've done all the right things.
I'd never heard of anyone with breast cancer in their 30s, let alone 20s".
BREAST CANCER IN YOUNG WOMEN
Breast cancer is much less common in young women, so it generally comes as much more of a shock. Because of the stage of life they are in, young women like Tarah are also faced with different issues.
"The treatment that could save me could also make me infertile. So I had IVF to preserve my eggs."
Typically, young women are diagnosed with more aggressive breast cancers which require harsher treatments.
TREATING BREAST CANCER IN
YOUNG WOMEN
Tarah had a double mastectomy, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, and took tamoxifen as part of her treatment.
Young women also face a higher possibility of the cancer spreading to other parts of the body, as well as the cancer returning. And young women are more likely to have a more aggressive breast cancer than older women.
All these factors mean that it is especially important for young women to be breast aware.
PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR BREASTS
Early detection of breast cancer could save your life
1. LOOK
At your breasts
2. FEEL
your whole breast area
3. KNOW
The signs of breast cancer