Is Breast Cancer More Likely to Spread in Young Women?

— -- Question: Is breast cancer more likely to spread in younger women?

Answer: Breast cancer is very uncommon in young women, but it does occur in the 20s and 30s. When breast cancer occurs in these very young women, we debate whether that actually has a worse outcome in comparison to older women.

The way that it appears today is that if a young woman is diagnosed with breast cancer, if it is an early-stage cancer -- meaning not very advanced -- the prognosis, how it's going to come out, is approximately the same as an older woman. There may be some forms of cancer that are very aggressive that tend to occur in younger women and are a threat to their lives.

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