Breast Cancer Doesn’t Discriminate By Age

Breast Cancer Doesn’t Care How Old You Are

Ali Feller, 38, was just days away from running a marathon and in what she says was the best shape of her life when she felt a lump in her breast. She finished the race, went to the doctor, and heard something she never expected: breast cancer. As surprising as the diagnosis was, Feller is among a growing group of young women receiving the same life-changing news. 

Well, that’s alarming. 

A recent study showed that cancer is becoming more common in Americans under 50 and that breast cancer cases are climbing faster than many other types. It’s the most common cancer among women aged 15 to 39 and tends to be more aggressive and advanced in this age group. 

What’s fueling the rise? 

The exact mechanisms are unclear, but some theories include: 

• Delays in motherhood. “The older a woman is when she has her first full-term pregnancy, the higher her risk of breast cancer,” according to the National Cancer Institute. As you age, cells accumulate genetic damage. Pregnancy initiates a surge in breast growth, which may multiply this damage and increase the chances that cells become cancerous. 

• Longer reproductive lifespans. “What we're seeing now is girls start to menstruate at younger ages, have delayed childbearing, and go into menopause later,” says Andrea Silber, MD, a breast oncologist at Yale School of Medicine. This means women have a longer exposure to estrogen, which has been linked to an increased breast cancer risk. 

• Higher alcohol consumption among women. Alcohol changes how the body processes estrogen and causes hormone levels to rise.

Your move

Most women are advised to wait until they’re 40 to start getting mammograms. But rules for those with above-average breast cancer risk (due to family history, ethnicity, or even when you got your first period) may be different. You can find out where you stand by asking your doctor for a breast cancer risk assessment.

 

Pay close attention to changes in your breasts, knowing there are many symptoms beyond just the well-known lump. “No change is too small to bring up to your doctor,” says Oluchi C. Oke, MD, a breast oncologist at MD Anderson Cancer Center. And, as always, advocate for yourself if you feel your concerns are being ignored. Feller says she experienced this when a doctor “felt [the lump] and said it's probably nothing — come back in six months.” Fortunately, she pushed for further testing because she knew in her gut that something was wrong.

Read more about how Feller and another young woman are navigating their diagnoses here.

We asked you to vote on a question you’d like answered. The winner was:

How do I properly wash my fruits and vegetables?

FEATURED EXPERT:

Bryan Quoc Le, PhD

Researcher, consultant, and author who specializes in food science

“Run [your produce] under cold water … [for] 10 to 20 seconds … just enough to dislodge any of the visible material. [Produce washes] don't really help much. If you let [produce] sit for longer than like 10 [to] 20 minutes in a pot of [water], you're starting to breed [possible] microorganisms in that liquid.

“It's a good idea to wash your produce, especially if you're trying to dislodge any visible dirt … [or] possible contamination that's on the surface. But the truth is that it's not really going to get rid of everything. [If there’s any] kind of pathogen on [your produce], it's still going to be there. Washing doesn't do anything for that. A lot of the pathogens form biofilms or they have spores. So if [your produce] is already contaminated, there's not much you can do by washing things off. If you end up cooking it … the cooking process is going to kill off [harmful bacteria] anyway.”

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity. You can read the full story here.

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“Unbottled Potential” by Amanda Kuda

Author Credentials: Kuda is a sober personal development coach and speaker based in Austin, Texas.

Table of Contents: If you’ve never taken a close look at your relationship with alcohol, consider “Unbottled Potential” a “permission slip” to do so, says Kuda — even if you don’t have a drinking “problem.” Expect soul-searching questions, real-life examples, practical tips, and journal prompts to help you examine whether alcohol could be holding you back from reaching your goals and feeling your best.

Why We Bookmark’d It: Choosing to be sober can seem black-and-white. Either you have a problem with alcohol or you don’t. But this book explores the messy gray area for the sober-curious, allowing you to reconsider the narrative of why someone chooses to step away from alcohol. Kuda writes that what’s often considered a “cure-all for emotional strife and social anxiety” may actually be keeping you “stuck in a cycle of mediocrity.” And while drinking may feel like it brings out your most fun qualities and dulls your worst, it could actually be doing the opposite — while also impacting your mental and physical health. While reading, you’ll feel inspired and maybe even a little called out.

Catch up on your reading with our past Well Read book recs here.

"Post-work restraint collapse"

— The overwhelming urge to cry, scream, or hide after a long day of work. Wait, so other people do this too?