"But you're so young..."

One of the common response I have received when someone has heard that I was 30 years old when I was diagnosed with breast cancer has been, "But you're so young."  Every time I heard that, I came back with: "My mom was 35 when she was diagnosed with late stage breast cancer."  

It got me thinking about all the other young women who have been told the same thing, so I reached out to a group of young cancer survivors that I've befriended on Facebook.  They wanted to also let everyone to know that there is no such thing as "too young," for breast cancer.   Also, you know what, it's not just breast cancer, though obviously I focus on this cancer since it's my cancer.  I'd love to hear from any other young women out there who've been diagnosed with a cancer and have heard, "But you're so young."

Concerning breast cancer, from 2006 to 2010 (hey, that's my year), approximately 1.8 percent of those diagnosed with breast cancer were between the ages of 20 and 34 years old.  I guess there's some truth in the statement, "But you're so young."

*Edited to add: I have been burned by people in the past pretending to have had cancer, and they turned out to be fakes.  I'm not saying anyone's story I'm publishing here is fake or may be fake, but I'm editing to add that none of these stories have been independently verified by me.  Please read them in good faith, as I have published them in good faith.