Younger women have breast cancer and it's more aggressive

Melissa Rojas was a week away from her wedding anniversary when she learned that she had breast cancer. The 28-year-old nurse did not have a family history of the disease.

Jasmine Harris was 26 years old and was working as a health coordinator in a hospital when she felt a lump in her chest while she was taking a shower.

Joan Bauman, 45, was the mother of four ultramarathons running when a mass in her chest became more painful.

All three were considered "too young" for breast cancer. Indeed, less than 5% of women under age 40 are diagnosed with breast cancer each year, according to the National Cancer Institute (NCI)

However, more than 12,000 breast cancer diagnoses among women under 40 years of age this year and more than 26,000 among women under age 45, according to the NCI.

In the United States, the median age of a breast cancer diagnosis in women is 62, according to the Susan G. Komen Foundation, organizer of the Komen Miami / Fort Lauderdale Walk Saturday in Bayfront Park, center Miami city.

Researchers say that breast cancer in younger women tends to be more aggressive, because it is often diagnosed later, is more advanced and insurance companies set a minimum age for mammograms, which can discourage detection.

In addition, because the numbers are relatively small, some doctors do not always conclude cancer with younger women. In fact, according to a 2009 study by the Journal of Oncology on breast cancer among younger women, nearly 80% of young women with breast cancer have themselves discovered a breast abnormality. As such, they may need to get their doctor to have a mammogram, an ultrasound or a biopsy.

Harris, the 26-year-old woman, first expressed her concerns to her gynecologist, who thought she was suffering from a cyst linked to her menstrual cycle. He told her to come back after the cycle. She did it and asked for an ultrasound, because the mass had not left.

The ultrasound showed a mass requiring a biopsy. The biopsy, performed in August 2015, returned positive.

"The doctor sat down and did not stop apologizing," Harris said, referring to his radiologist's reaction.

Harris went to Broward Health North in Deerfield Beach for a triple negative breast cancer treatment. After four cycles of chemotherapy, her tumor was gone. She then underwent a double mastectomy followed by one month of radiation therapy.

Three months later, she learned that she was pregnant, a big surprise because she had not frozen her eggs. (Chemotherapy and radiation can make women infertile.) She gave birth to a healthy baby nine months later.

"Get tested, no matter what your age," she says. "Just do the test."

Rojas, the 28-year-old nurse, had a similar experience with her doctors.

In December 2012, she felt a lump during her self-examination and went to a breast cancer clinic to have it checked. There, she was told that she was too young for cancer. Rojas underwent a mammogram that came back negative.

Six months later, after the size became bigger and more painful, she underwent a biopsy.

He was diagnosed with invasive stage 3 breast cancer with ductal carcinoma, which had spread to the lymph nodes. She went to the Miami Cancer Institute of Baptist Health South Florida for treatment.

After a year of chemotherapy, her tumor shrank, she underwent surgery to remove some of her lymph nodes and began a month of radiation therapy.

In September 2014 – six months after finishing radiotherapy – She got pregnant. Although Rojas froze her eggs, which cost her $ 20,000 in insurance costs, she had a natural pregnancy.

After his son was born, Rojas was feeling harden along the scar tissue of his chest. His doctor said that it was normal for the scar tissue to harden over time. She insisted that an ultrasound reveals a tumor attached to the scar tissue.

She had a double mastectomy in August 2016 and underwent eight cycles of chemotherapy. In May 2018, a biopsy of a swollen lymph node revealed that the cancer was back. She had 36 lymph nodes removed two months later.

"Why should I check my chest in my 20s?" Rojas, who advocates for young women to do their own exams and test.

"Either you go into battle mode," she said. "I was going to beat me."

Rachel Greengrass, associate rabbi at Beth Am Temple in Pinecrest, learned this lesson very early.

She found a mass while breastfeeding her 2 year old son. She was 32 years old.

She consulted with her doctor, who suggested to her that it was a cyst caused by hormonal changes after her pregnancy. She insisted on having a mammogram, which led to a biopsy. In March 2013, she was diagnosed with triple positive breast cancer.

"As a rabbi, I had known so many women who had been treated for cancer," she said. After six cycles of chemotherapy and a bilateral mastectomy, she has not been diagnosed with cancer for five years.

Bauman, the marathoner, has also found skeptical doctors during her journey against breast cancer.

She found a mass in her chest in 2015. After having a mammogram, her doctors said that it was nothing. One year later, another mammogram returned benign.

Two years later, in February 2018, a biopsy revealed that she had stage 2 breast cancer.

His doctor was incredulous, claiming that he could not believe that someone who was running marathons and who was relatively young – she had been diagnosed at the age of 45 – could have breast cancer.

"People say that you are a survivor and I do not agree with that because I have never felt in danger," said Bauman, who underwent four cycles of chemotherapy and a double mastectomy. April.

She ran throughout her chemotherapy. After her last lap, she ran the next day a race of 50 km – 32 km.

"I did it myself," said the elementary teacher in Palm City, near Stuart. "Show that chemotherapy and cancer can not hold me back."

The perception that younger women do not contract cancer has infiltrated insurance policies. Insurance companies do not generally cover the cost of mammograms of women under 40 unless they are considered high risk, which includes a personal history of breast cancer, a strong family history of breast cancer, or a genetic mutation.

But genetic mutations are rare.

"Only 5 to 10% of breast cancer diagnoses are genetic," said Dr. Joyce Slingerland, director of the Braman Family Breast Cancer Institute at the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami, where Bauman was treated.

None of the women had hereditary cancer or mutations of the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, which can increase the risk of contracting breast cancer.

Slingerland said that although younger women are not diagnosed as often, the problem is that they are often diagnosed later, which leads to more aggressive cancer.

Tamara Rodriguez, chief financial officer of Fatima Group, a conglomerate focused on the reconstruction of Haiti, was diagnosed at age 35. She stated that she had no history of cancer in her Haitian family, that she did not smoke cigarettes, that she ate healthily and that she There was none. the typical risk factors associated with breast cancer.

Her oncologist, Dr. Lauren Carcus of the Baptist Cancer Institute in Miami, said she usually saw patients under 40 because she herself was a young oncologist.

Rodriguez, who later wrote a book, Hair with the queen, to explain breast cancer to her two daughters, she was told that she was too young to have breast cancer.

"I would have liked to know that younger women were able to contract cancer," Rodriguez said. "I would like to know that even if I led a healthy lifestyle, I could get it. I would like to know the cause of the problem and wish that families have more tools to understand breast cancer. "

Local Breast Cancer Events

Susan G. Komen More than the pink walk: The 23rd Annual Breast Cancer Awareness will be held from 6:30 am to noon on Saturday, October 13th at Bayfront Park, 301 Biscayne Blvd., Miami. For more information, call 954-909-0454, e-mail [email protected] or visit komenmiaftl.org.

Pink Walk Against Breast Cancer Aventura Mall: Participants meet at the Central Court, where t-shirts are available for purchase. All proceeds go to the Breast and Women's Health Initiative. Aventura Mall will match every dollar donated. Registrations begin at 8 am, followed by a warm-up class at 8:30 am and walk at 9 am on Sunday, October 14th. Aventura Mall, 19501, boul. Biscayne, Aventura. Free. 305-935-1110 or https://aventuramall.com/aventuramallpinkwalk /.

Discussion on the Broward Health North panel: Broward Health breast cancer specialists and breast cancer survivors will participate in the forum to discuss treatment options. The roundtable will be held on October 31 at 9:00 am at the Broward Health North Conference Center, 201 E. Sample Road, Deerfield Beach. To register, call 954-759-7400 or visit BrowardHealth.org/Events

Cut for the cure: Get a haircut to support those fighting against breast cancer and honor those who have died. All proceeds go to Susan G. Komen Miami / Fort Lauderdale; 12 pm-4 pm Sunday, October 14; The Heritage Fair, 5939 S. University Dr., Davie. $ 20 women, $ 15 men, $ 20 pink highlight strip. 954-434-3100.

Walk Against Breast Cancer: Annual walks of three to five miles have been organized to raise awareness and fundraise to save lives. Donations accepted:

▪ Saturday, October 13, 9 am at the Amphitheater of Truman Waterfront Park, 21 E. Quay Rd., Key West. Send an email to Suzi Youngberg at [email protected].

▪ Sunday, October 14, 8:30 at the FAU campus, 777 Glades Road, Boca Raton. Send an email to Lynn Curry at [email protected].

▪ Saturday, October 27, 9 am at Marlins Park, 501 NW 16th Ave., Miami. Send an email to Brittany Perets at [email protected].

▪ 8.30am Saturday October 27 at Huizenga Plaza, 1 E. Las Olas Boulevard, Fort Lauderdale. Send an email to Tali Amihud at [email protected].

▪ Saturday, October 27, 9 am at the Meyer Amphitheater, 104 Datura Street, West Palm Beach. Email Jay Zeager at [email protected].

Yoga for breast cancer awareness: Join instructor Eliana Balk for an all-level yoga class on local breast cancer survivors. This donation-based class is accessible to everyone, but is especially accessible to those who have recently had breast cancer surgery or treatment. October 21, 21; The Yoga Nest, 12165 Sheridan St., Hollywood. RSVP at [email protected] or 754-610-1660 or theyoganestfl.com.