Are women getting BC at an earlier age?

There seems to be so many young women who use this site who are not in the ‘catchment’ age brackets for routine screening, and I personally know 4 women in my age bracket age 40 - 50 who have/had the disease.

I am wondering if the stats are changing, are age 50 and over are still the most at risk?, and why so many young women under 30 seem to be presenting with this illness.

Is it just that younger women are more computer literate and therefor we see this younger age bracket on this site, giving a false appearance that more younger women are getting breast cancer?

I would like to hear from people who may have facts. If the stats are changing then do we need to lobby for screening at an earlier age? Is there any studies to show that early detection and it’s accompanying costs can off set cost of treating more women at a later stage of the illness? Does that make sense? If it’s caught early, is it cheaper to treat?

When I was younger I didn’t know anyone with breast cancer, now I know all these women in my age bracket that have to self detect as they don’t get routine screening.

Debate open!

Irene

Numbers under 50 haven’t gone up, numbers over 50 have - thought to be due to better breast awareness, larger numbers of baby boomers in the age group most likely to be diagnosed, and mammograms

I think you are right that this site tends to attract more computer literate people, tho I am 51. I was diagnosed at 48

It’s not just being computer literate that attracts young women to internet chat rooms. When I went to the hospital, all the other women were over 50 and the pity was all too obvious. The proportion of younger in women in chemo was higher, in part because younger women are more likely to develop er- cancers, but it was still in a distinct minority.

I have heard that the number diagnosed under 50 has gone up somewhat in Britain, but I don’t have any hard figures. The difficulty with cancers in younger women is that they are often much more aggressive, so mammograms would have to be carried out annually, and yet, at the same time, more difficult to detect, so there is a possibility that they would be missed. There is some evidence that routinely screening women between 40 and 49 would help catch the cancer at an earlier stage, though. Still, some people, like me would be too young for even that.

I was diagnosed at 37, my Onc has expressed concerns that she is seeing more younger woman but they have no explanation as to why, it is also harder to detect in younger woman.

Personally I presented with an easily felt lump, the mammogram gave the all clear, 3 FNA were inconclusive and so were two ultrsounds 4 weeks apart, in the end it was the core biopsy that gave the result and in those 2 months from seeing my dr to the day of surgery my lump grew from 2cm to 8cm and I had 15 nodes involved.

I now am receiving yearly mammograms which I have no faith in what so ever, My onc knows my feelings and has advised me to check myself on a regular basis and she always gives me a thorough check all over too. My sister has been told she will join the breast screening programme at 40 due to my diagnoses (first in the family) but in the meantime she is to get checked once a year by her Dr.

Agree with Christines comments though on the lack of younger womans company in the chemo suites and rads waiting rooms, I am also the youngest in the local support group so I log onto this site to mainly use the younger woman section.

At the time I was dx, I was the youngest of the three of us who had our ops the same day. They were all over 50, and there was me all of 30. I think its a case of more awareness for the younger peeps…and pushing for follow ups, rather than routine mammos picking it up. I was fobbed off a few times at the BCU at the hospital due to my age…however my lumpectomy made all the difference and 10 days later I was in for a mastectomy. I think that screening should be brought right down age wise…after all…smear tests are done every 3 years from when you become sexually active…so why cant breast screening be brought down as well. Thats just my thoughts on it all. If I hadnt stamped my feet it doesnt bear thinking about.

I think there seem to be more and more younger women with bc. I was 44 when dx, 45 now but saw quite a few younger women at hospital - they say its our lifestyle and we don’t know whats being pumped into the atmosphere or whats in our water/on our foods! Saying that I know of 3 ladies who had bc 40 / 50 years ago - one was in her 20s and is very healthy and now in her 60s and the other 2 were in their 20s / 30s when dx and died of old age in their late 80s - fantastic considering the treatments back then! Maybe it wasn’t talked about as much then! I also have a friend who has worked as a volunteer (for quite a while) at a cancer centre where they provide therapies and she thinks the age of patients is getting lower too (for all cancers). It’s certainly something to think about.
Shorty

My consultant also says there are a lot more younger women being diagnosed with breast cancer. Maybe these trends will show in the stats in the next couple of years. I’m not sure how up to date the stats are.

I thought I was really young to get bc at 44, until I came on this site and I realised there were a lot of people younger and an awful lot of people who were of similar age to me.

I don’t know how factual this is but I believed they couldn’t do mamograms on pre menopausal women for screening as the breast tissue was too dense to get accurate readings, thats why they start at 50, not just because not as many ladies get bc before this time.

Although in my case a mamogram did show abnormalities, I had no lump, and can thank a diligent doctor for catching things early.

Helfire

It would be very interesting to know these stats. Perhaps it is a question we could ask Breast Cancer Care to find them out for us?

I tend to agree that mammograms should be offered earlier, as my sister urged me to have one after her routine screening and I was told by the BC people that I was low risk at age 44 and that she was the first in the family. Now she is trying to get our two nieces screened.

I think the problem with that is that mammos aren’t so good as a screening tool on younger women with denser breasts - so cancers can be missed. MRI is actually the best screening tool for younger women, who have a high familial risk I believe.

Many people have the impression that there is an increase in the numbers of younger women getting breast cancer but I don’t know whether this is yet backed up by hard stats. In 2003 there were over 44,000 new cases of bc in UK of which about 8000 occurred in the under 50s. It is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in women under age 35. (These figures from BCC website.) Also I believe the most common killer of under 35s.

The risk of getting breast cancer increases with age. Women in increasing numbers get breast cancer into their 70s and 80s and there is plenty of age discrimination against older women who are not routinely screened after 70.

It is often said that younger women’s cancer is more aggressive…this is mainly because younger women are more likely to get aggressive kinds of cancer grade 3, triple negative or her2) than older women. But not always… I was diagnosed at 54…dead average age… with aggressive cancer. I know a woman in her late 70s, a survivor of 20 years who now has a second her2+ cancer who is in a real struggle with her NHS Trust to get herceptin.

The evidence on screening younger women is mixed. Mammograms are not a good tool on dense breast tissue. More controversially of course is the point that ‘early’ detection does not necessarily lead to improved outcomes for those with aggressive cancers. I personally think that breast awareness, and easier and quicker referral by doubting GPs for young women reporting changes in their breasts is more imortant than extending screening. Screening can lead to a false sense of security (I had almost annual mammograms between age 47 and diagnosis…)

I think there is always a particular awfulness about young women getting breast cancer…in addition to the shattering expereince of facing a premature threat to life, issues around fertility, early menopause, body image are different than for most older women.

But getting breast cancer over 50 is no picnic either. Breast acncer is overhwelmingly a post menopausal disease, and the personal trauma for each and every one of us invisible oldies is pretty nasty.

As to the internet…well I suspect younger women are more likley to use internet forums like this than older ones (particularly the oover 70s), and this is why we get the impression that younger women are getting breast cancer in larger numbers than they are.

Jane

Hi Irene

Thanks for starting this thread, I have been wondering the same, or is it just that I am coming into contact with more younger people being ‘young’ at 41 myself.

The same is true of the other end of the scale. The upper age for routine screening is apparently 70 here. My Mum had missed her last mammogram because she had had heart surgery, then was screened at 71 apparently was to be her last and she was diagnosed with BC! She wouldn’t be computer literate enough to come on a site like this!

I found a lump so went to the clinic, my lymph nodes were already infected. I would still not have been screened for 9 years, imagine what further havoc the BC would have caused if I still hadn’t found the lump!

At my chemo sessions we all seem to be under 50, but that may be due to us having a more aggressive cancer and not all ‘older’ patients are necessarily given chemo.

Nicky

Hi Irene ,I was diagnosed nearly a month ago and had my op on thurs. I’m 40. I also feel shocked about the current system for screening. I am a nurse and have worked in cancer care, but stupidly didn’t think it would be me. I have been told that screening from an early age is not only costly but carries many risks of exposure to harmful radiation which in turn can cause cancer. Its a difficult one but certainly worth pursuing.
Julie

Hi Irene,

great thread!! I was diagnosed in Mar, aged 34. Had not really considered myself to be a young’n for a long time until I got bc and then everyone started commenting on how young I was! I have met a few ladies who live in my area on the ‘younger women’ page of this website and we go to our local support group together. One of the ladies in question was diagnosed last year aged 27 and many others are well under the ‘screening age’.

My sister went to her Dr’s after I was diagnosed (she’s a couple of years older than me) and they said they will not offer her any sort of early screening, particularly as mine is hormonal and not hereditary. My bc nurse said she sees many women around about my age, its scary stuff!!

I really wonder how much lifestyle has to do with getting bc. I have never been too careful about what I ate and drank prior to developing bc and I led a fairly sedentary lifestyle. I never ate my 5 portions of fruit and veg a day (I do now!), I ate loads of choccie and drank alcohol almost every night. Maybe my laid back carefree lifestyle is whats led to this?? Who knows!

I’ll be interested to see other peoples responses to your post, well done Irene,

Take care all,

Kelly
-x-

Hi All,

Kelly - I dont think your diet/drink etc are to blame. I had my son aged 25, I breast fed, I dont drink alcohol and I eat sensibly - all apparently reduce (not sure if thats the right word) your risk of breast cancer. I just think if its gonna happen its gonna happen regardless. There is no evidence to say that i have inherited breast cancer from my mum although she has had it twice, although I know not all the genes have been identified yet but the more obviously ones - BRACA1, 2 and the other (cant remember - still suffering from chemo brain 3 months post treatment!) I didnt have. But I was still diagnosed with grade 3, triple neg breast cancer at the tender age of 26.

I personally dont feel that enough is done for younger women (or men for that matter). The screening process is inadequate in some areas and for most women its a real job to be referred by their GP which is quite unacceptable. I was lucky to be referred immediately due to my family history but not everyone has that - but BC has to start somewhere! When i go to my local clinic for a check up there are loads of posters on the walls and leaflets for older ladies but the odd one for younger women. There really isnt enough being done to encourage younger women to check more regularly.

Ju -x-

Hi

More and more women are being diagnosed younger, so I really don’t think it is creating a false impression with so many younger woman posting here. You just need to look at the 41000faces.org.uk/ website and you can see how many young people were affected within the last year.

I was 27 when I was diagnosed a year and a half ago and while my doc referred me immediately it took them 6 months and 5 appointments before they decided I had breast cancer as I had a cyst that had grown to 6cm in diameter over the 6 months. I had no family history, I drank but not to excess and I was healthy enough but because it was a cyst and I was so young, they just ruled it out without even testing.

Unfortunatley now the cancer is back but only in my lymph nodes this time and due to being so irregular the last time I was diagnosed, I was operated on within 3 weeks and I have my oncologist appointment next week to schedule my chemo again. But even with that, the doctor who was doing my ultra sound 2 weeks ago asked me about my history and when I told her I had a cyst that became malignant she said ‘cysts don’t become malignant’ and as I told her, ‘that may be what all the books say but mine did’! Still riles me that even some doctors still don’t listen to me and think I’m talking rubbish when I’m proof that they need to listen and take notice!

I don’t have any facts on costs etc… or research that has been done but I would imagine if they had diagnosed me in the 1st place it would have saved several appointments with different consultants which of course is time and money there alone. I heard recently that the age for screening has or is being dropped for those that have BC in their family history, but not for anyone else at the mo. Campaigning definitley needs to be done and changes need to be made as now I have in the back of my mind, has it come back because it took them that long to find it in the 1st place? I’ll never know, but anything that can be done to increase awareness and promote earlier screening, I’m in!

Moira P

Wow Moira, it seems incredible that they took so long to diagnose it. And yet STILL Dr’s don’t listen to you when you explain your history.

I wonder how long I would have taken to be referred if I hadn’t pushed my GP. As I work in the NHS, I insisted that she refer me on the two week wait, and felt like a bit of a blagger TBH (although it turned out I was completely right to do so !!!) - she said to me ‘It doesn’t feel like a breast cancer, and is mobile (like a cyst)’. Well guess what it sure turned out to be breast cancer. BTW, my lump was also felt by a Dr friend who works in Oncology and she was gobsmacked when it came back as cancer, as she too thought it felt benign.

I have a breast CNS friend and she says one of the problems is, is that some GP’s do send silly referrals on the urgent list (like 17 year olds with very obvious benign lumps etc) - and that clogs the system too. And then there are other women who are literally delayed by their GP, not put through urgently and it turns out to be BC.

Apparently BC under 40 is still thought of as ‘rare’, I wonder if it should be downgraded from that to ‘unusual’ - if Moira’s stats are anything to go by.

Just to reiterate: though I feel like a lone voice:

yes it is terrible that so many younger women are getting breast cancer…but the evidence is simply not there that staistically the numbers as a percentage of the whole are increasing dramatically. It is still is a 80/20 divide: 80% of breast cancer occurs in the over 50s.

The benefits of screening below age 50 are disputed. There are plenty of evidnce based papers to support not extending screening to the under 50s.

Yes all women should be aware of how their breasst feel and what feels unusual for them. And yes GPs need to be more consistent and attentive in referring women who are concerend about lumps. There is masses of publicity for younger women about breast acncer and rightly so (not least the ‘kylie effect’) but the real age discrimination occurs in the over 70s.

Jane

PS

The 41,000 faces website are self selecting women. Its not the actual 44,000 who were diagnosed in one year!

Jane