Early Detection Matters: Addressing Delays in Diagnosing Breast Cancer After Pregnancy Among Young Mothers

Empowering Young Mom – BCYW Foundation Postpartum Diagnostic Delay Research Fund

DENVER, COLORADO, UNITED STATES, December 18, 2023 /EINPresswire.com/ — Breast cancer during a woman’s early years poses unique personal, social, and medical challenges that are different from those encountered by women who develop breast cancer later in life. Women diagnosed with breast cancer at a young age have a poorer outcome. This is partly because the detection of breast cancer, “diagnostic delays” in younger women, often happens at later stages of the disease.

Factors contributing to delayed diagnosis of breast cancer in young women are multifaceted, influenced by socioeconomic disparities, healthcare accessibility, etc. Such diagnostic delays have been found both at the patient level and their healthcare providers’ level – as sometimes healthcare providers tend to dismiss suspicious signs because of their age, ultimately leading to delayed diagnosis and treatment. Diagnostic delays further add to the unique challenges faced by young women with breast cancer.

To raise awareness and find solutions for the diagnostic delays in BCYW and minimize its devastating consequences on the patient, the Breast Cancer in Young Women Foundation (BCYW Foundation) is pleased to announce the launch of “the BCYWF Postpartum Diagnostic Delay Research Fund” campaign. The BCYW Foundation reaching out to extend an invitation to you to join us in saving the lives of new young mothers who develop breast cancer in the first two years after having their baby (postpartum breast cancer). This type of breast cancer has the lowest cure rate of any breast cancer, even after correcting for young age, partly due to greater diagnostic delays. To address this issue, the BCYW Foundation will fund research into postpartum diagnostic delay among young women and provide solutions. The research fund will improve the early detection and treatment of breast cancer in this population.

The BCYW Foundation’s current funding campaign is focused on understanding and addressing the underlying reasons for preventable diagnostic delays affecting new young mothers who develop breast cancer. Such delays have been found both at the patient level and at the level of their healthcare providers. In the case of breastfeeding women, delays may result from ignoring clinical symptoms of breast cancer, such as lumps, tenderness, and engorgement, which are common symptoms in healthy lactating young mothers. Unfortunately, these delays enable tumor progression to a more advanced stage, resulting in statistically poorer outcomes.

The goal of this campaign is to raise funds to support a research proposal(s) aimed at investigating the factors causing diagnostic delays for women with postpartum breast cancer in a wide variety of centers around the world. The research and awareness funding campaign aims to develop and pilot test strategies to tackle preventable delays. For example, one strategy might be the creation of a culturally sensitive educational module available in major international languages for new mothers and their healthcare providers describing the symptoms and signs of postpartum breast cancer.

After the completion of this campaign, a subcommittee of the BCYWF Advisors (Luis Costa, MD, PhD; Ellen Warner, MD; Mabel Mardones, MD, Indira Poola, PhD, and Aaron Ciechanover, MD, PhD) will select the most promising of the submitted research proposals solicited through public Research Funding Announcements, and invitations to leading researchers in the field.

Thank you for considering supporting our “BCYWF Postpartum Diagnostic Delay Research Fund” campaign. The research funded by your contribution will ultimately save the lives of many young mothers who develop breast cancer and preserve the quality of life of their young families. We are grateful for your generous donation to our cause. We encourage you to share this message with your friends, colleagues, and family. We are committed to transparency, and all transactions will be publicly documented. Like all donations to the BCYWF, your donation will be used thoughtfully to make a tangible difference in the lives of young women affected by this disease.

About: The BCYW Foundation is a coalition of compassionate volunteers with a shared purpose: to make a difference in the lives of young women affected by breast cancer. The Breast Cancer in Young Women Foundation International team includes breast cancer doctors, scientists, advocates, BCYW survivors, non-governmental organizations, and global ambassadors for 19 countries – as we continue to update our website – with its awareness material in 13 International languages and examples of bi-lingual inspiring stories of brave breast cancer survivors and caring family members who lost their loved one too soon to the disease, in 6 international languages. The BCYW Foundation focuses exclusively on core issues related to breast cancer in young women so our daughters, granddaughters, and young women no longer die of breast cancer. The Foundation’s vision is to create a reality in which the death of a young woman from breast cancer becomes a rare event.

Rakesh Kumar
Breast Cancer in Young Women Foundation
+1 303-726-8463
email us here