Can a girl of 19 get breast cancer?

Question

My daughter keeps asking me if it's possible for her to get breast cancer and she is only 19 years old, we've talked to medical profesionals and they say there is nearly a 0% chance of someone so young getting breast cancer. Is there anyone out there that knows the statstics of someone under 20 getting breast cancer or how likely it is?

Answer 1

Breast cancer is possible at any age. As far as the chances of getting breast cancer at 20 . . when it happens to you . . what does 'rare' mean?

My son was diagnosed at 17 years old with a rare abdominal sarcoma. One week he was playing basketball the next week he was in the hospital with stage IV cancer. His type of cancer has only about 200 cases diagnosed in the world at any given time.
So . .here is what I think . . the medical profession is doing a poor job in alerting teenagers and young adults that they too can have cancer. Teens and young adults are so healthy that they can actually go for months ignoring symptoms of cancer . . and still function like healthy individuals. Cancer is asymptomatic for most young people until it is very advanced.

If your 19 year old is concerned for any reason whatsoever that she might have cancer . . . LISTEN TO HER!!!! I wish I had listened to my 17 year old when he told me he felt something was wrong . . . but he looked and acted so healthy we did not pay that much attention.

So, yes, a 19 year old can get breast cancer. She should be checked. You can look for more information at sites like Young Survival Coalition - what you read there may save your daughters life:

http://www.youngsurvival.org/young-women-and-bc/

"Young women CAN and DO get breast cancer. While breast cancer in young women accounts for a small percentage of all breast cancer cases, the impact of this disease is widespread: There are more than 250,000 women 40 and under in the U.S. living with breast cancer, and over 11,100 young women will be diagnosed in the next year. But, despite the fact that breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in women ages 15 to 54:

Many young women and their doctors are unaware that they are at risk for breast cancer.

There is no effective breast cancer screening tool for women 40 and under.

Young women are often diagnosed at a later stage than their older counterparts."

Children can also have breast cancer, although it too is very rare. Juvenile Secretory Carcinoma is a rare form of breast cancer in children. Cystosarcoma Phylloides is also a rare tumor of the breast that can occur in children. There are also secondary cancers such as lymphoma which can spred to the breast in children.

Good luck to you and your daughter as you sort this issue out. I'm a bit on edge about this issue today because a young 23 year old girl died yesterday . . she had secondary breast cancer as well as the same type of sarcoma that my son has. Take your daughters concerns seriously.

Answer 2

The chances for someone between 20 and 30 are approximately 1 in 2152 (0.05%). I happen to know that stat because I am in that 1. The stats for someone under 20 are probably too small to be statistically significant which would also make them too small to publish in a book (a major problem in modern science). A more relevant statistic may be that 1 in 12 women under age 40 with a lump have breast cancer. If your daughter has a lump and it has been there for more than a month, I would take her to a doctor and recite the 1 in 12 stat (its in the Susan Love Breast book) and insist on a biopsy, even if its just a needle core biopsy. I personally know of at least one person younger than your daughter who has breast cancer. No one is too young.

Answer 3

From a viewpoint of a doctor the idea of having anyone going at any time and having things checked out. NO if you don't have symptoms or strong genetic reason to -like everyone in family getting breast cancer or some such thing,

Yes, all kind of things are possible like getting a loose window from a skyscraper on your head-but rare diseases are rare diseases. Use common sense -which is not so common, unfortunately. Breast cancer in below 25 year olds is much less than 1/10 000 breast cancer patients. National cancer Institute or any Cancer registry in the western countires have good statistics -they are available on the net -like the Finnish one .You can go to cancer.fi and find statistics -in English. last time I looked in one period of time there was no one under 25 per about 10 000 breast cancers. Young women often have lumpy breasts, most often benign. But yes, have things checked, if symptoms! All the best
mary a

Answer 4

This is probably not what you want to hear, but I have heard of people as young as 3 or 4 with cancer. As for breast cancer, I don't think there is an age that is too young. There are too many variables.

Answer 5

Breast cancer is rare in women younger than 25 years.

Incidence increases with age, with a plateau in women aged 50-55 years.

Age is the most significant risk factor.-ve family history is an advantage

good luck

Answer 6

Forget about Statistics. It is your child that should be your concern.

Visit this site : http://www.medicinenet.com/mammogram/article.htm

In most countries the facility to check for breast cancer should be free. Even if it is spending some money it is worth the while spending it for your child.

Answer 7

Cancer is such a disease that can happen to anyone, anytime and anywhere in the body. Therefore it doesn't have any rule that it will not happen in a certain age.

Its always better to get a checkup done.

Answer 8

Family history is the biggest factor. It is not impossible, just more improbable. The recommended age for a mammogram is a joke!! My co-worker found a lump on her own before her scheduled mammogram.

Answer 9

yes, a girl at any age can get breast cancer. Boys and men can get it too.

Answer 10

The chance are very low, but for your and your daughters peace of mind why don't you get a check up for her