What is the risk of breast cancer for young women?
Twenty-two percent of breast cancer cases occur in women under age 50. In 2005, in Canada as a whole, there were 70 cases reported in women aged 20 to 29, 850 in women aged 30 to 39, and 3,600 in women aged 40 to 49. This compares with a total of 17,200 or 78% of cases in women aged 50 or over. Breast cancer is, by and large, a disease of older women. There is very little evidence to support routine mammography screening of women younger than 50 years of age. Because breast tissue of menstruating women (or of women of any age on hormone therapy) tends to be more dense than that of most postmenopausal women, mammograms of younger women can be more difficult to read, increasing the likelihood of mistaken readings of the results (i.e., false positives and false negatives). Younger women may also be exposed to unnecessary radiation over a period of years. Still, unusual lumps should be checked by a doctor and a thorough clinical breast exam should be part of a routine annual check-up. Conc
