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Why Are Young People Getting Cancer?

Read Time: 3 minutes

Doctor holding a clipboard and gesturing with a pen while sitting next to patient

Stacy Hernandez was 23 when she was told she had uterine cancer. She couldn鈥檛 believe it. Not only did she have cancer, but one that had an average diagnosis age of 60 years old.

鈥淚 remember I asked my doctor, 鈥榳hy?鈥 Because supposedly, endometrial cancer only hits women that are already going through menopause,鈥 says Stacy. 鈥淚鈥檓 in my early 20s. Why am I getting this? What is going on?鈥

Stacy, now 31, is one of thousands of patients facing cancer at a younger than usual age鈥攃reating a medical mystery for researchers and health care professionals.

A troubling trend

鈥淚f you ask one provider, with their one frame of reference, it鈥檚 anecdotal,鈥 says Sachin Apte, MD, MS, MBA, chief clinical officer and physician-in-chief at Huntsman Cancer Institute and professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the (the U). 鈥淚 feel that in my clinic, I鈥檝e seen more uterine cancer in younger people. But when you see data that鈥檚 national and global, it puts it in perspective that this is a growing problem.鈥

remains one of the most significant risk factors for developing cancer. The says the average age of diagnosis is 66, and 88% of people diagnosed with the disease are age 50 and older.

But patients of many cancer types are . In fact, people under 50 were the only age group with an increase in overall cancer incidence between 1995 and 2020. A published in BMJ Oncology found that cancer rates for adults between the ages of 18 and 49 increased by 79.1% between 1990 and 2019.

鈥淭hose cases that affect people under 50 are still much smaller in comparison to those that are 65 plus,鈥 says Dr. Apte. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 a troubling trend.鈥

鈥淵es, it is scary. But our response should not be one of fear, but one of rolling up our sleeves and figuring it out.鈥
Sachin Apte, MD, MS, MBA

The reasons why this shift is happening are unknown. Dr. Apte says scientists have a better understanding of the causative agents of cancer鈥攕uch as environmental pollutants, smoking, obesity, and diet鈥攖han they did 25 years ago.

鈥淥n one hand, we feel like we鈥檙e getting healthier as science improves,鈥 says Dr. Apte. 鈥淏ut with the trend of younger people getting cancer, it鈥檚 almost like we鈥檙e going backwards in terms of knowledge. I think that's what's very disconcerting to a lot of people that see this. It causes us to pause and scratch our heads.鈥

Breast, gastrointestinal, and female reproductive system cancers are the most common among younger people. The rise in colon cancer cases has received significant media attention, especially after the high-profile death of actor Chadwick Boseman from the disease at age 43. A found that while overall rates of colon cancer are dropping, younger people are getting the disease in greater numbers.

, increasing 1% per year since the mid-2000s. Those rates are higher for Black, Hispanic, Asian American, and Pacific Islander women.

As these diseases are more common in older patients, early-onset cancers can be hard to identify.

Trust your instincts

Stacy Hernandez always had irregular periods during her youth in Los Angeles. Sometimes she bled for weeks. Other times, she missed her period for months. Doctors prescribed different birth controls to regulate her cycle, but the intervals of heavy bleeding became more and more intense. After several trips to urgent care, Stacy had been through enough.

鈥淔inally, I put my foot down,鈥 says Stacy. 鈥淵ou need to check me for everything. This is not okay. I'm almost two years in with this bleeding.鈥

That鈥檚 when her doctors in California discovered she had stage 1 endometrial cancer. They surgically removed the tumor from her uterus  and told her to monitor her condition with frequent doctor visits.

She鈥檚 glad she spoke up for herself.

鈥淚t鈥檚 your right to fight for answers. If you know something鈥檚 not right, you can always ask for another doctor. And there鈥檚 someone out there that鈥檚 going to care and going to want to help you.鈥
Stacy Hernandez

鈥淗onestly, it鈥檚 your right to fight for answers,鈥 says Stacy. 鈥淎nd if you know something鈥檚 not right, you can always ask for another doctor. And there鈥檚 someone out there that鈥檚 going to care and going to want to help you.鈥

Stacy moved to Salt Lake City in 2020. Just three years later, she found out her cancer had returned. She had started bleeding again and noticed problems with dizziness. While working as a teacher鈥檚 aide in special education, one of her students accidentally hit her in the back with a table.

鈥淚 was in such pain,鈥 she says. 鈥淚t was a pain that I would wish upon no one. I couldn鈥檛 even get out of bed, and my work was like, 鈥榶ou need to go get checked.鈥欌

She eventually made her way to Huntsman Cancer Institute in the fall of 2023, where specialists found three tumors: one in her uterus, one pressing against her spine, and one in her chest. Stacy had surgery on her back and now visits Huntsman Cancer Institute every three weeks for chemotherapy.

Don鈥檛 fear the future

Doctors don鈥檛 know why Stacy was diagnosed with a cancer typically seen in older women.

Dr. Apte says uncovering why young people are getting cancer at higher rates will not be easy. Some researchers suspect the prevalence of processed foods and microplastics may be culprits.

鈥淚 mean, imagine all the things that are in the environment now that weren't there 100 years ago. There鈥檚 so much to learn about, and it will take time, unfortunately,鈥 says Dr. Apte. 鈥淒ata is what will help us and guide us through this. Before we can make conclusions in terms of the causative agents, you need information. You need to prove, scientifically, what the cause is. Only then can you start figuring out what to do about it.鈥

Until more data is available, Dr. Apte says young people should control what they can. He recommends avoiding smoking, drinking, and maintaining a healthy weight. People should also be aware of their genetic history and stay up to date on screenings

Dr. Apte adds that it鈥檚 important not to catastrophize, despite the unknowns.

鈥淵es, it is scary,鈥 says Dr. Apte. 鈥淏ut our response should not be one of fear but one of rolling up our sleeves and figuring it out. Which means studying the problem.鈥

Until then, Stacy encourages younger cancer patients to try stay positive and be there for each other.

鈥淓ven though there are times where it gets really hard, and I do get depressed. It hits me, what I'm going through. But I get so excited for my appointments, like 鈥榠t鈥檚 chemo day!鈥 And everyone is like, you weirdo, why are you dancing? Why are you happy to go to chemo?鈥 says Stacy. 鈥淏ecause I know that it鈥檚 working. I know that they鈥檙e doing everything they can to get me better.鈥

Cancer touches all of us.