Asha was one of the lucky ones. Thanks to chemotherapy, radiation and estrogen blockers, she is now a thriving thirty-year-old and a strong advocate of women taking a proactive approach to their health. She says, “If you feel a lump, get it checked out—even if you feel like you’re being a hypochondriac—and make sure people are taking you seriously at the doctor’s office.”

Being cognizant of one’s own body may be the best preventative measure women have against breast cancer. In addition to maintaining a healthy lifestyle and having yearly physicals starting at age 20, a breast self-exam is recommended every month.

Ovarian Cancer
Dubbed “The Great Mimicker,” ovarian cancer in young women appears to be anything but. Its symptoms are common (persistent digestive problems, fatigue, bloating, abdominal discomfort, nausea and inexplicable weight gain or loss), diagnosis is difficult (the Ovarian Cancer National Alliance reports that early stages diagnosis only occurs in 1 out of every 4 cases) and the results can be devastating (half of all women diagnosed with the disease die from it within five years). As of yet, there is no 100% reliable screening test for ovarian cancer, meaning that women should be proactive and talk to their doctor about their symptoms, ask for a CA125 blood test (which reveals if a tumor is present in about half of all ovarian cancer cases) and, if conditions persist, request an abdominal ultrasound.

“In a primary care office, ovarian cancer is not the first thing that goes through their minds when a woman has abdominal complaints,” says Dr. Weldon Chafe, professor of obstetrics and oncology at Virginia Commonwealth University. “If a younger woman has some of these symptoms, she probably is the one that is going to have to say to the physician, ‘Could this possibly be ovarian cancer?’”