| Although many people believe that young women | | | | Tamoxifen is an example of a drug which affects |
| don't get breast cancer, the fact is they can and | | | | post-menopausal women differently than |
| they do. One in every 229 women between the | | | | pre-menopausal women, so younger women who |
| ages of 30 and 39 will be diagnosed with breast | | | | are prescribed this drug as treatment need to do |
| cancer within the next 10 years.The statistics that | | | | careful research on their own to make sure that |
| surround younger women and breast cancer are | | | | the benefits outweigh the risks of the drug.An |
| frightening. Although only a small percentage of all | | | | additional area of concern for younger women |
| new breast cancer cases each year involve | | | | who have breast cancer include issues such as |
| women aged 40 and younger, breast cancer is | | | | early onset on menopause and fertility issues. |
| still the leading cause of death for women | | | | Many young women who are diagnosed with |
| between the ages of 15 and 54. The number of | | | | breast cancer have not yet begun a family. One |
| young women diagnosed each year with breast | | | | of the side effects of chemotherapy and/or |
| cancer is between 11-12,000. Close to 1400 of | | | | hormonal therapies can be irreversible menopause. |
| those women will die each year. A lot of young | | | | Tamoxifen is a drug that can affect fertility, so |
| women and their doctors do not realize that they | | | | again, younger women will need to research their |
| too are at risk for this disease.One of the | | | | choices carefully if they plan to have children or |
| problems with detection of breast cancer in | | | | start a family in the future. One of the newer |
| younger women is that a mammogram is not an | | | | treatments for women with hormone receptive |
| effective screening tool for women under 40. | | | | breast cancer has only been shown to be |
| Younger women tend to have dense breast | | | | effective with post-menopausal women, so a |
| tissue and that prevents tumors or areas of | | | | treatment option that younger women will have |
| calcifications to be seen in the film. Because of the | | | | to make in the future is if they want to take |
| lack of screening tools, younger women are often | | | | tamoxifen OR shut down or remove their ovaries |
| diagnosed at a later stage in the disease than | | | | to bring on early menopause to benefit from a |
| their older counterparts. In addition, young | | | | more effective treatment.The final issue that |
| women's cancers are generally more aggressive | | | | young women with breast cancer face is the |
| and have lower rates of survival. The survival | | | | isolation they sometimes feel - brought about by |
| rate for 5 years is 83% for younger women - | | | | being the youngest in their support group and |
| lower than the survival rate for post-menopausal | | | | having to deal with different issues than their |
| women.Another issue that impacts younger | | | | older counterparts. One organization which helps |
| women who have breast cancer is that most | | | | provide a network for young breast cancer |
| research is done on breast cancer patients who | | | | survivors is the Young Survival |
| are over the age of 40 or post-menopausal. | | | | Coalition.Remember - no woman is too young to |
| Younger women are an underrepresented | | | | have Breast Cancer. |
| population in research studies. The drug | | | | |