Diagnosed With Breast Cancer at 26
Diagnosed With Breast Cancer at 26
November 8, 2024
When cancer researcher LaShae Rolle found a lump in her breast at age 26, she didn’t think it could be cancer, but decided to have a check-up just to be safe. She’s glad she did.
Being diagnosed with breast cancer at any age is frightening and unexpected. But if you’re diagnosed in your 20s – before any type of screening starts – you face different challenges than if you’re diagnosed later in life.
LaShae Rolle, who studies cancer disparities, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2023 at age 26. When she found a lump in her breast she wasn’t concerned because no one in her family had ever had breast cancer. But a mammogram and ultrasound found at least eight cancer tumors in different quadrants of her breast.
Listen to the episode to hear LaShae explain:
- why she decided to have a check-up after she found the lump
- how powerlifting helped ease some side effects
- how her diagnosis changed the focus of her research
- her advice to other people who are too young to start cancer screening