Young Breast Cancer Survivors: Employment Experience and Financial Well-Being

Abstract

The economic burden of breast cancer for women under 50 in the United States remains largely unexplored, in part because young women make up a small proportion of breast cancer cases overall. To address this knowledge gap, we conducted a web-based survey to compare data from breast cancer survivors 18–39 years of age at first diagnosis and 40–49 years of age at first diagnosis. We administered a survey to a national convenience sample of 416 women who were 18–49 years of age at the time of their breast cancer diagnosis. We analyzed factors associated with financial decline using multivariate regression. Survivors 18–39 years of age at first diagnosis were more likely to report Stage II–IV breast cancer (P<0.01). They also quit their jobs more often (14.6%) than older survivors (4.4%; P<0.01) and faced more job performance issues (55.7% and 42.8%, respectively; P=0.02). For respondents in both groups, financial decline was more likely if the survivor had at least one comorbid condition (odds ratios: 2.36–3.21) or was diagnosed at Stage II–IV breast cancer (odds ratios: 2.04–3.51).

Psychological distress in adult women of reproductive age at different stages after breast cancer diagnosis: A qualitative study

“…Breast cancer diagnosis is a stressful and disastrous event for women of childbearing age. Once diagnosed with cancer, they must endure stress from various sources, including medical treatment, work, and social life (Shoemaker et al, 2018;Tangka et al, 2020). Compared with other age groups, these patients bear a greater psychological burden, which may contribute to a strong sense of loss of control in life in the early stages after diagnosis (Fernandes et al, 2023).…”