Issue Position: Breast Cancer

Issue Position

Breast Cancer

Despite the perception that breast cancer is only something older women need to worry about, young women can and do get breast cancer. Sharing this knowledge is critical because young women's breast cancers are generally more aggressive, are diagnosed at a later stage, and result in lower survival rates. One of the reasons they are diagnosed at a later stage is because many young women simply don't think they can get breast cancer - that breast cancer is something that only happens to older women. And even if they do suspect something is wrong, too many physicians dismiss their concerns because they also believe that the woman is simply too young to have breast cancer.

Additionally, certain ethnic groups, including Ashkenazi Jews, and African American young women, have an increased risk of breast cancer. Several years ago, I was a young woman at high risk, but didn't know it. In late 2007, I heard those terrible words, "you have breast cancer." And for as much as I knew as an advocate in the fight against breast cancer in over 20 years as a legislator, there was much I didn't know.

At the time, I did not know that as an Ashkenazi Jew, I was five times more likely to have the BRCA 1 or BRCA2 gene mutation. I did not know that carriers of the BRCA gene mutations have up to an 85 percent lifetime chance of getting breast cancer and up to a 60 percent chance of getting ovarian cancer. After my diagnosis, I found out that I do have the BRCA2 mutation. I was fortunate that I knew enough about my risks and got the help I needed, but I didn't find my tumor through luck. I found it through knowledge and awareness.

Source