Like influencer Caroline Receveur, who said on July 25 that she had breast cancer, more and more young women seem to be affected by this disease. According to figures from the National Cancer Institute, women under the age of 40 represent 5% of patients, but above all 3,000 new cases per year. However, according to Florence Coussy, breast cancer specialist at the Institut Curie interviewed by BFMTV, the phenomenon of rising cancers is not “specific to young women”, but affects the entire population.
For good reason, in 2023, 61,000 new cases were diagnosed, figures already higher than those of 2013, when 58,000 new cases were recorded. This increase is due to several factors. First of all, although it does affect young women, breast cancer is much more common among older people. Nearly 80% of cancers are born after the age of 50 and the average age of those affected is around 63 years old.
But many other factors favor the development of this cancer. First of all, family history, especially in young women (where the predisposition to cancer increases from 5 to 10%), but also obesity (10% of breast cancers are due to massive overweight), lack of physical activity or alcohol. Finally, having your period late, an early menopause or any other prolonged exposure to hormones causes risks of cancer development.
For the time being, identifying breast cancer in women remains complicated, especially in young people, since organized screening is currently only reserved for women aged 50 to 74 via mammography. But a gynecological follow-up, via palpation by a gynecologist, general practitioner or even a midwife from the age of 25, or even self-examinations, make it possible to identify possible problems.
