October - Breast Health Awareness Month - Week 2

Karen was 32 when she had her first mastectomy. A year after her diagnosis, she was told she would need a mammogram on the other side. This was in the days before The Rose was open, so she went to another breast care facility.  When she arrived, she discovered the office manager had cancelled her appointment, telling her, “You're too young to have a mammogram.”  Karen immediately fired back, “Well, Lady, I'm not too young to have breast cancer!

That was 27 years ago. 

For the past decade alone at The Rose, one-fourth of the women we diagnosed have been under the age of 40 -- about 35 to 40 young daughters, wives, mothers each year.

While still a mystery as to why it’s happening, a study released this year found the incidence of advanced breast cancer in women younger than 40 years had nearly doubled over three decades. The authors are calling for further research and analysis of the numbers but maintain that the reality of increased cancer findings among the young can’t be denied.

Since The Rose has been in operation for almost all of those three decades, and since we have always maintained that women know their bodies best, we have often been the place young women who were told they were “too young for a mammogram” would turn.

As a result, we have observed that the young woman is the most medically underserved woman we see.  No matter her ethnic origin, social economic status, insured or uninsured, if a woman is under 40 years old, she will face tremendous barriers finding breast care.  And if she can’t find care, the cancer will grow at a rate that usually exceeds growth in older women.

I’ve seen numerous barriers come down – though not without a fight – in my long career in breast health.  For instance, a woman’s voice can now be heard in a doctor’s office. (The namesake of The Rose, journalist Rose Kushner, went to doctor after doctor before she was assured he would awaken her after a biopsy so she, not her husband, could make the decision on her next steps.) Regular screenings are now an accepted and recommended practice. And costs for preventive screenings are now covered – without a co-pay.

Once every one of these now accepted practices were considered unheard of. So I’m committed to the idea that change can happen. I won’t rest until the only thing that remains unheard is “I’m sorry, you’re too young for a mammogram ….”

Dorothy Gibbons, Co-Founder and CEO of The Rose