Breast Cancer: A Younger Generation's Battle

Cancer used to be a disease that mostly affected older adults. But things are changing. More young women are getting cancer now than before. For example, the Roark sisters from New Jersey. Kiki was only 37 when she found out she had breast cancer. Her sister Charmella got the same diagnosis six years later, at 44. Doctors didn't take Kiki seriously because she was young. They told her a mammogram wasn't needed. But she insisted and found out she had cancer. Now, Charmella hopes other women will learn from their story. It's important to listen to your body and push for checks if something feels wrong. Younger women are almost twice as likely to get cancer as young men. This is a big shift. Breast and thyroid cancers are driving this increase. Black women are more likely to die from breast cancer than White women. But there's good news too. Cancer survival rates are going up. This is because people are smoking less, cancer is being found earlier, and there are new treatments. Scientists are trying to figure out why cancer is rising in younger adults. It could be changes in fertility patterns, obesity, alcohol, or even unknown factors. Better screening and more research can help us understand and reduce these risks.