October is Breast Cancer Awareness….CONTINUE READING...CONTINUE READING
Month, which means it’s a great opportunity to highlight the stories of women who have been touched by the disease themselves and get some firsthand perspective on what it’s like to battle — and overcome — breast cancer.
Women are being diagnosed with breast cancer younger and younger, and some are committed to sharing their stories in the hope of helping others with early detection
. Many of these women are using social media to get the message out to a broader audience, which is working.
Sites such as TikTok
and Instagram are seeing an increase in these types of posts intended to create awareness. The earlier a breast cancer patient can detect and begin treatment, the better, and knowing how to do that is crucial.
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is not a substitute for consultation with a medical professional or treatment for a specific condition. You should not use this information to diagnose or treat a health problem without consulting a qualified professional. Please contact your health-care provider with questions and concerns.
Young women report being shocked by their cancer diagnoses.
Entrepreneur and mom Diamonique Valentine was just 27 years old when she opened up about her breast cancer diagnosis on Instagram. She toldGood Morning Americathat she shared her diagnosis with thousands of followers because she was shocked to be diagnosed so young. She found a lump during a self-breast exam.
“That moment I was diagnosed it was like, ‘ You have cancer. OK, you’re gonna die,'” she told the news outlet.
Valentine’s diagnosis was stage 3 triple-negative breast cancer
. It is an aggressive, fast-growing cancer. The American Cancer Society notes that it’s more likely to have spread by the time it is found. It also has a higher chance of coming back than other cancers.
Being younger doesn’t mean you’re immune to breast cancer.
TikToker @loopylindsey44 found out that she had breast cancer at 29. She said she tried to advocate for her health for several conditions, which she does not definitively know were related to her cancer diagnosis, but she was dismissed because of her age.
“A lot of doctors will dismiss you if you’re not 45. You can’t even really get a mammogram or any kind of screening done until 40 or 45,” she shared on TikTok just a wee, after the got the diagnosis. “I just know more and more women are getting breast cancer at a young age and I don’t really see too many people talking about this online. And although this is a really sensitive topic, I want to be a voice for young women going through this.”
Social media is proving to be an excellent resource.
Rachel Garlinghouse
, a mom of four, has made it her mission to share her experience with hundreds of thousands of people through social media and via her career as a writer. Garlinghouse tackles tough topics, spreads awareness, and shares photos of her journey to help fight the stigma about breast cancer, self-breast exams, and breast implant illness.
In a series of Instagram posts, Garlinghouse urges young women, even teenagers, to learn to do self-breast exams. That is how she first detected her cancer at age 35.
“So, here’s what I want to know,” she said on Instagram. “Why are we not teaching our teenagers how to do self-breast exams? That’s a habit they could create, do a monthly self-breast exam, and then continue that habit into their twenties, their thirties, their forties, and beyond.”
Garlinghouse often posts photos on social media of her bare chest after having a mastectomy in order to spread awareness in a way that grabs attention and drives home a message about how important self-detection is.
Cancer in a younger woman isn’t as uncommon as you may think.
In fact, 9% of breast cancer cases affect women younger than 45, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC. That may seem like a small number, but breast cancer in younger women also is known to be more aggressive and less likely to respond to treatment.
Young women diagnosed with breast cancer are often more likely to have a genetic mutation that makes them more susceptible to breast and other cancers. And in some cases, breast cancer can cause issues with fertility and pregnancy after completing breast cancer treatment.
Several signs of breast cancer exist that should not be ignored. The CDC urges anyone who experiences any of these symptoms
to contact a doctor for further examination:
A lump in the breast or armpit that was not there before
New thickening or swelling of the breast
Any irritation or dimpling of the breast
Flaky, red, or irritated skin on the breast or nipple
Pain or pulling in the breast
Any kind of nipple discharge, including blood, that is not breast milk
Changes in the shape or size of the breast
“If breast cancer does develop, early detection and prompt treatment can significantly increase a woman’s chances of survival,” the Cleveland Clinic has noted. ” More than 90% of women whose breast cancer is found in an early stage will survive.”
The American Cancer Society recommends mammograms for women beginning at 45
, with the option of having a mammogram at 40. If there is a family history of breast cancer, mammograms should begin at a younger age at your doctor’s recommendation….CONTINUE READING
