What about YOU if you are too young for a mammogram?
I went to my doctor for a lump I felt in my breast and she gave me a response that set off red flags: “Don’t worry about it”.Reaching My Generation in Crisis
Being a researcher involved in breast density and breast cancer (I am 22 years old. I am a Cancer Researcher and Graduate of Molloy University), I knew that I had to take action.
I was fortunate enough to have my breast ultrasound training with Dr. Robert Bard (cancer imaging specialist, NYC) upcoming in the next week.
Dr. Bard showed me how to use the ultrasound to help me find two benign tumors in my breasts, and it was there that he reported that I have dense breasts.
Had I not taken action in getting screened at the young age of 22, I would have never known that I should be getting screened via ultrasound every 6 months (because having dense breasts puts me at a higher risk for breast cancer), nor would I have known that I had benign breast tumors.
I belong to the graduate-level age group that continues to witness the increasing numbers of breast cancer cases in our country.
The women in my generation also happen to be the next group that falls prey to being UNDER-DIAGNOSED. Insurance companies and the medical community have made little or no action to support or identify the need for women in their 20’s and 30’s to be approved for standardized early detection / breast cancer screening.
From the front-row perspective, younger women are as much at risk of getting cancer. Reports show an uptick in genetic predisposition for breast cancer, alongside a dangerous attitude of denial. Addressing this calls for widespread education and screening programs in our community as essentials to a life of wellness and prevention. To subscribe to a regular screening routine at the early stage of womanhood raises awareness and prevention for decades to come. Perhaps someday, installing breast cancer screening centers in college campuses may be commonplace and a powerful step toward a national prevention initiative.
Targeting the young working PROFESSIONAL is a major part of our population, where the vast majority tends to put off checkups and screenings because they are just “too busy”. Professional women need to value their health above anything else, and therefore the narrative needs to be amplified in that area. We find this problem to be quite prevalent in urban areas with the constant on-the-go culture. Offering local resources and improved access for personal scanning are just some progress driven programs.
GEN Z is a sensible focus group because these are the women who absolutely must receive routine scanning. We need to advocate for the narrative that age 40 is not the starting age where screening needs to begin – especially since we are now seeing cancer cases in younger ages are growing in numbers. Getting OB/GYN professionals on board is especially important because this is where women are getting their prescriptions.
We need to educate on the benefits of ultrasound. People need to know HOW it works, WHY it works, and why it holds certain benefits over a mammogram. People need to know that it is SAFE and EFFECTIVE, and this technology can save lives. I think it is especially important to emphasize the option of ultrasound for younger women. Many younger women have dense breasts and don’t even know it, putting them at a greater risk (I wouldn’t have known if it weren’t for all of you!). Ultrasound is obviously a safe and effective screening method for young women. It is also not linked with the stigma/fear of getting a mammogram like many women my age hold (X-Ray exposure, etc.).
If the drive for EARLIER DETECTION means proactive awareness, may this lead to turning social concern into clinical action. This includes clinicians joining hands with advocacy groups who recognize the many potential areas for at-risk women in my generation whose lives and safety continue to go unrecognized. And once the count of cancer cases and deaths rise exponentially due to inaction, perhaps then will the medical community find urgency in upgrading the required breast cancer screening age to (finally) include generations like mine. So say we all!
Reference: Global Increase in Breast Cancer Incidence: Risk Factors and Preventive Measures, PMC9038417. (NIH)- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9038417/
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