JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Doctors are seeing an increase in young people getting breast cancer.
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Research shows a 20% increase in breast cancer diagnoses among women born in 1990 compared to those born in 1955, according to the American Cancer Society.
It’s a reality, Heather Hutto, 31, knows too well.
“I just slid my hand across my cheek and I felt a little lump on the breast,” Hutto said. “I know my body and I was able to determine this is not normal.”
Hutto was diagnosed with positive invasive ductal carcinoma at 28 years old. Her doctor said it was stage 1B.
“I asked my gynecologist if she was gonna tell my parents if she was gonna call them and tell them that-- because I couldn’t tell them,” Hutto said.
Her only family history is on her dad’s side of the family. Her aunt was diagnosed in her 60s and had surgery. All of her genetic testing, however, came back negative.
The young mother had to go through chemotherapy, surgery and radiation.
“The earlier we find it, the more of the ability we have to get ahead of it,” Dr. Cynthia Anderson said.
The oncologist at Baptist MD Anderson is downtown Jacksonville said they’re seeing an increase in the number of young people getting colon and breast cancer.
“There’s still a lot of questions in research and going into why we think it is. There’s some concerns possibly about dietary shifts that have been happening over the last couple of decades,” Dr. Anderson said. “Could it be something environmental or could it just be that we’re having better screening?”
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) now recommends you start getting mammograms every two years at the age of 40. Previously the recommendation was at the age of 50. That changed earlier this year.
At-home breast checks are also very important.
“If you feel something different in your breast or something different in your health you should really bring it to someone’s attention,“ Dr. Anderson said. “How do I know if what I’m feeling in my breast feels different? It really should have kind of a rubbery feel to it.”
She said to feel the tip of your nose, and it should have a similar texture to that.
“The benefit of early detection is that the earlier we catch it the less intense a lot of the therapies are,” Dr. Anderson said. “And the success rates still are very very high.”
“I knew with my support system that I was gonna be able to get through it. I can’t say enough about the people around me,” Hutto said. “It [cancer] has its scary parts, but you’ll get through it.”
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