WHILE breast cancer is more common in older women, younger women are also at risk. In fact, breast cancer can occur at any age after puberty, although rates increase later in life. A worrying trend is that more women under 40 are now being diagnosed with breast cancer.

“The rise in younger patients highlights the urgent need for education, early screening, and access to personalised treatment,” explained Dr Ana Cecilia Botero, radiation oncologist at Miami Cancer Institute, part of Baptist Health South Florida. “You don’t have to wait until 40 to start being proactive. For women with risk factors, vigilance must begin earlier.”

Here’s how:

1) Living a healthy lifestyle is the first thing every individual can do to be proactive about protecting themselves from breast cancer.

2) Be conscious of the quality of the food you eat and how you prepare it. Eat colourfully, enjoying a multitude of fruits and vegetables, and be mindful of portions. It’s also important to moderate alcohol consumption and ensure you stay hydrated by drinking a minimum of eight glasses of water a day.

3) Regular exercise can also help protect against breast cancer and other disease processes. Don’t rely on going to get exercise. Avoid a sedentary lifestyle and be more cognisant of moving and finding ways to get the heart rate up every day, whether it’s walking, running or performing another type of aerobic exercise.

4) It is also critical to not smoke. While smoking has no direct link to breast cancer, it is associated with lung cancer, which is a significant cause of cancer mortality in women.

There is no doubt that early detection makes a difference when it comes to breast cancer. So ensure you’re doing:

Self-exams: it is very important for women to know their breasts and perform a self-exam each month.

The important signs to look for when performing a self-exam are changes to the breast’s shape, extreme breast tenderness and/or skin changes, such as dimpling of the skin, nipple discharge or inversion of the nipple, and whether or not a lump or mass is felt. It’s also important to perform the exam in different positions, both standing up and lying down so you can feel things differently depending on the position you’re in. If any of these signs/changes are detected, it’s important to be evaluated with a clinical breast exam and breast imaging regardless of the patient’s age.

For pre-menopausal women, the best time to perform a self-exam is the first week after the menstrual cycle. This is when breast changes go back to their baseline after menses. For women who are in menopause, Dr Botero recommends they perform their self-exam the same day every month, for a more consistent comparison benchmark. This is important because even though menopausal women no longer experience a period, the breasts continue to have some type of change over the month, so it’s best to compare at the same time of the month, every month.

Mammograms are the gold standard for breast cancer screening: Women are advised to start getting a mammogram at age 40 and annually thereafter. Women with a known family history of breast cancer or a known genetic predisposition should have a conversation with their primary care provider to see if earlier testing is recommended. If there is a family history, it is usually recommended to start screening 10 years before the age at which the first-degree relative was diagnosed for breast cancer.

Mammography and other diagnostic care for breast cancer screening and treatment are available across the island. For those who may benefit from additional specialised options facilities like Baptist Health Miami Cancer Institute offer advanced diagnostic tools such as digital mammography and 3D imaging that can detect cancers too small to feel. Women with a family history or suspected genetic risk can also access testing for inherited mutations like BRCA1, BRCA2, and PALB2, which can help inform prevention and treatment choices.

Treatment for breast cancer works best when different specialists collaborate: Women who go to Baptist Health for diagnosis and treatment will find a care team that typically includes surgeons, oncologists, radiologists, and support specialists who work together to create a treatment plan tailored to their specific situation. Depending on the type and stage of cancer, treatment may involve surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, hormone therapy, or targeted biological agents. This team approach helps ensure each patient gets comprehensive care that addresses all aspects of her diagnosis.

The fight against breast cancer requires both awareness and action. While the disease affects women everywhere, regular screening and access to quality care make a real difference in survival rates. During Breast Cancer Awareness Month and beyond, the message remains urgent: early detection saves lives. Whether through self-exams, annual mammograms, or seeking care at the first sign of concern, taking proactive steps can mean the difference between catching cancer early when it’s most treatable, or facing a more difficult journey later.

Dr Ana Cecilia Botero, radiation oncologist at Baptist Health Miami Cancer Institute .