MPR News with Angela Davis

Why are more young women getting breast cancer?

Angela Davis and Laura Gutierrez
MPR News host Angela Davis (left) talks with Laura Gutierrez in an MPR News studio in St. Paul on Wednesday.
Gretchen Brown | MPR News

Imagine getting a phone call that changes your life. A phone call that says: “You have breast cancer.” 

One in eight women in the U.S. will get that call at some point. The median age at diagnosis is 62.

But breast cancer diagnoses are on the rise for women under 40. And a cancer diagnosis in your 20s or 30s is typically more aggressive. You’re more likely to die. It’s more likely to come back. 

MPR News host Angela Davis and her guests talked about breast cancer — the medical discoveries that have made breast cancer increasingly survivable. The mysteries that continue to make it the second-leading cause of cancer death in women. And the challenges that come with survivorship.

Guests:  

  • Laura Gutierrez is a breast cancer survivor who was diagnosed in 2021. She lives in Blaine. 

  • Melissa Sherman is a medical oncologist and hematologist with Health Partners. 
     

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Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.