I am completely shocked at the amount of young people on here. I am 35 and my GP and the consultant BOTH said my lump was unlikely to be anything due to my age. Turned out to be cancer alright. And one of my friends checked her breasts at the weekend and has also found a lump. She got her uncle who is a GP to have a look and he said no way its cancer as shes 31. But she went to her own GP and they’ve referred her for tests. Hopefully its nothing like.
Its a small comfort to know I’m not alone though. I have been on here every day reading posts.
Hi ladies, so sorry to see that you have had to join this club no-one wants to join.
If I recall correctly, around 10,000 women under fifty are diagnosed with breast cancer each year (I can recall this as it was 2010, the year I was diagnosed aged 47, that this was noted for the first time). If you add to that the fact that younger women are more computer savvy and more likely to use social media and internet forums, then it is inevitable that there are quite a lot of you on here. Also the nature of ‘random’ means that there will sometimes be ‘clusters’ of younger women diagnosed in a short time in a small area.
I think the desire for a reason is normal and natural, but it is really hard to identify a possible cause, basically, we are just the unlucky ones, and you the more so, in my view, given you are younger. I say this because you mustn’t beat yourselves up or feel guilty about what you can’t now change. You will get good treatment and that’s what matters.
If you haven’t already found it, there is a really good facebook group called Younger Breast Cancer Network UK where you can chat to other young women who will understand your concerns better than an oldie like me.