Experts warn of an alarming trend of new cancer cases among young adults
According to a new report, cancer deaths are continuing to go down, but new cases among young adults are increasing.
Taking medications is now a daily ritual for Lourdes Monje, who was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 25, and it has spread to the lungs.
"I thought that that was it for me. I thought, 'Wow, maybe I have like a year or two. Who knows,'" Monje said.
Monje, who lives in Philadelphia, is part of a growing trend of young people diagnosed with cancer, according to a new report from the American Association for Cancer Research.
"We don't understand and we're trying to better understand, but it's going to take research. And so that's our concern," said Dr. Patricia LoRusso, president of the American Association for Cancer Research.
LoRusso says research depends on money, and this year there has been a cutback in cancer funding.
"Because of its complexity, it takes enormous amount of research to unveil the biology, which is needed to be able to then advance into new treatments," LoRusso said. "We can't get those new treatments without clinical and basic and translational research."
Research is now a big part of Monje's life being part of a clinical trial testing a new treatment.
"It targets this really specific little thing in all of my cells," Monje said.
Monje is hoping the investigational therapy is a life saver that will also pave the way to better treatments for future patients.
"Indispensable added benefit of knowing that this is gonna contribute to other people's, you know, potential healing. It's not just about me when I go into this clinical trial," Monje said. "It's about all the other people that are gonna come after me."
Researchers say obesity, alcohol consumption and environmental factors are the probable causes of the increased cancer rates among young people.