Take the Pledge to Prevent Breast Cancer in Young Women!
15,320 signatures toward our 30,000 Goal
Sponsor: The Breast Cancer Site
Breast cancer diagnoses among women under 40 are rising at an alarming rate. The time to act is now.
There has been a 2% annual increase in invasive breast cancer in U.S. women under 40 over the last three decades1.
This year, the American Cancer Society2 estimates:
- About 287,850 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed in women.
- About 51,400 new cases of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) will be diagnosed.
- About 43,250 women will die from breast cancer
Invasive breast tumors in women under 45 years old increased by 11.8% between 2007 and 2011 alone3.
Cancers diagnosed in younger women are often more aggressive and therefore more life-threatening4. This is especially alarming because young women and those with low health literacy are less likely to perform regular self-exams or seek out mammograms5.
Whether you are a woman over 40 who has a daughter, niece, grandchild or other young relative, or if you're a young woman yourself, you can make a difference in slowing down this disturbing statistical trend. Until there is a cure, prevention and awareness are our most powerful weapons.
Take the pledge today: Commit to raising awareness about these five proven ways every woman can lower her risk of being faced with a battle against breast cancer.
- Brice Leclère, Florence Moliniéa, Brigitte Trétarre, Fabrizio Straccic, Laetitia Daubisse-Marliac, Marc Colonnae, Cancer Epidemiology (October 2013), "Trends in incidence of breast cancer among women under 40 in seven European countries: A GRELL cooperative study."
- American Cancer Society (2022), "Key Statistics for Breast Cancer."
- American Cancer Society (2017), "Breast Cancer Facts & Figures 2017-2018."
- BreastCancer.org"Do Young Women Have Worse Breast Cancer Outcomes? It Seems to Depend on the CancerÂ’s Characteristics."
- Julie Armin, MA, ABD, Cristina Huebner Torres, MA, James Vivian, PhD, Cunegundo Vergara, MD, FACP, and Susan J. Shaw, PhD., Health Education Journal (May 2014), "Breast self-examination beliefs and practices, ethnicity, and health literacy: Implications for health education to reduce disparities."
The Pledge:
I hereby pledge to share this vital and practical advice with all the young women in my life:
- Exercise regularly, preferably three times per week at 30-minute intervals.
- Eat a whole foods-based diet rich in colorful vegetables and low in processed foods.
- Moderate alcohol intake to 2-3 drinks per week.
- If you have a family history of breast cancer, talk to your doctor about the possibility of being tested for the breast cancer gene (BRCA1 and BRCA2).
- Above all, do your monthly self-exams!
Pledged by,
