BettyConfidential and the Susan G. Komen for a Cure organization are working together to get the word out about the realities of breast cancer and young women. We need your help!
-The Betty Editors, BettyConfidential.com
You probably know the scary statistic – one in every eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer. What you may not know, however, is that while doctors often don’t start mammograms for women before the age of 40, young women do get breast cancer, and when they do it’s often more aggressive and less responsive to hormone therapies.
While rare, the numbers are not insignificant:
• 24,000 women under age 45 will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year.
• That means nearly 10 percent of women diagnosed with breast cancer this year will be 45 or younger. [FYI, this includes both invasive and in situ cases]
• There are more than 250,000 survivors under age 40 currently living in the U.S. – many of whom were diagnosed in their 20s.
• Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in women under 40.
BettyConfidential is proud to be working with Nancy Brinker and the Susan G. Komen for the Cure organization to get the word out about the realties of breast cancer for young women, and we ask all of our readers to join our efforts.
Brinker, founder of the Komen organization, knows the realities of breast cancer for young women all too well. Her sister “Suzy”, for whom the Komen organization is named, was diagnosed with breast cancer at 33 years of age. She died from it at 36 in 1980.
‘I promised her I would do everything in my power to end breast cancer forever,” Brinker says. “We know so much more now than we did then. But still, so many young women do not understand the risks, and so many providers do not understand that young women can get breast cancer.”
Since her sister’s death, Brinker has worked diligently to create that awareness. She started the Susan G. Komen for the Cure organization in her kitchen with $200, a battered typewriter and a few friends. It is now the world's largest breast cancer charity and the largest source of non-profit funds for breast cancer research, second only to the U.S. government. Brinker has raised more than $1 billion for breast cancer research and recently received the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her efforts.
Brinker herself was diagnosed with the same type of breast cancer as her sister's 1994. But early diagnosis and aggressive treatment, once not available, have made her a cancer survivor.
When breast cancer is detected early, the five-year survival rate is 98 percent. But because many younger women are diagnosed at later stages with more aggressive breast cancer, their survival rate is lower. With increased awareness for genetic counseling and testing, early detection and treatment, the odds can be improved.
Providing that early diagnosis and treatment to women is the goal of a bill recently introduced in Congress, and this is where we need your help. The Breast Cancer Education and Awareness Requires Learning Young (EARLY) Act of 2009 was introduced by Representatives Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), a breast cancer survivor who was diagnosed with breast cancer at 37, and Sue Myrick (R-NC).The EARLY Act will increase awareness about breast cancer and young women in three key ways:
• Public education. The bill will provide funding for an aggressive public education and media campaign targeting young women, with an emphasis on women under age 40 who are at higher risk due to their race, ethnicity or genetic heritage.
• Resources for health professionals. Through additional training, health care professionals will be more aware of the risk factors, the opportunities for genetic counseling and testing, and the unique challenges that face young women diagnosed with breast cancer.
• Support services. Younger women face additional strains including an increased impact on their dating lives, careers and ability to have children. This bill will address these concerns by providing grants for support services for young women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer.
To learn more about efforts to fight breast cancer, read Betty's interview with Nancy Brinker, founder of Susan G. Komen for the Cure.
Read more about breast cancer from BettyConfidential.com: Cleavage Creek and I Had a Mastectomy at 23
