04/13/2026
We need to be more attentive about the data.
🥺 Breast cancer among women under 40 is rising and significantly too. Based on recent research, younger women are being diagnosed when the cancers tend to be caught later, are more aggressive, and therefore harder to treat. Why?
Because they're told not to look YET.
Do we realize what the critical cost of waiting is?
After watching this CBS reportage, (link below) I went into the data and believe me, this IS a public health crisis with alarming stats.
➡️ Women under 40 are nearly 40% more likely to die from breast cancer than women over 40 because their cancers are found later, when treatment options are fewer.
➡️ Breast cancer rates in women under 50 have risen 1.4% every single year since 2012. This is faster than in older women and the trend is not slowing down.
➡️ Breast cancers in younger women are more likely to be Triple-Negative which is a more aggressive subtype with fewer targeted treatment options. This is where people like me come into the picture as TNBC patients/survivors.
We are at the mercy of Lady LUCK.
➡️ Over 77% of women under 40 who were screened had no family history of breast cancer. I didn't, so waiting for a 'reason' to screen is in itself a risk.
➡️ The five-year survival rate for early-stage breast cancer is 91% and if it spreads to the bones, liver, lungs, and brain, then that rate drops to 31%. Early detection is not optional. It is survival, people.
➡️ Women who have regular mammograms have a 26% lower breast cancer death rate. Twenty-six percent isn't insignificant at all.
In April 2024, the U.S. Preventive Special Task Force updated its recommendation for women to begin mammogram screening at age 40. This guideline doesn't protect my daughter, nieces, and women in their 20s and 30s who are symptomatic. How about women with dense breasts? How about Black women who are nearly twice as likely to be diagnosed with Triple-Negative breast cancer between the ages of 20 and 44?
40 was already too late for many!
It is why the American College of Radiology recommends that ALL women talk to their doctor about their breast cancer risk by age 25. Not 40.
So, my urgent is this.
🔴 Know your baseline. Ask your doctor for a breast density assessment and a personal risk evaluation regardless of your age. Most women diagnosed have no family history.
🔴 Call on and support legislation for earlier screening access. Several states are moving toward mandating earlier screening for high-risk younger women. Know what's happening in your state and add your voice.
The algorithm isn't the enemy.
Silence is.
Do pass this along.
