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Stacy Hernandez was 23 when she was told she had uterine cancer. She couldn’t believe it. 她不仅患了癌症，而且平均诊断年龄为60岁.
“I remember I asked my doctor, ‘why?’ Because supposedly, endometrial cancer 只会影响已经进入更年期的女性，”斯泰西说. “I’m in my early 20s. Why am I getting this? What is going on?”
Stacy, now 31, 成千上万的癌症患者中有一个比正常年龄更年轻，这是否给研究人员和卫生保健专业人员创造了一个医学之谜.
A troubling trend
他说：“如果你问一个医疗服务大发娱乐提供者，他们只有一个参考框架，你会得到传闻。 Sachin Apte, MD, MS, MBA, chief clinical officer and physician-in-chief at Huntsman Cancer Institute and professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Utah (the U). “我觉得在我的诊所里，我看到更多的年轻人患子宫癌. But when you see data that’s national and global, 它正确地说明了这是一个日益严重的问题.”
Advanced age 仍然是患癌症最重要的风险因素之一. The American Cancer Society says the average age of diagnosis is 66, 88%被诊断患有这种疾病的人年龄在50岁及以上.
But patients of many cancer types are trending younger. In fact, 在1995年至2020年期间，50岁以下的人是癌症总发病率上升的唯一年龄组. A recent study published in BMJ Oncology 发现年龄在18到49岁之间的成年人的癌症发病率增加了79%.1% between 1990 and 2019.
“与65岁以上的人相比，那些影响50岁以下人群的病例要少得多,” says Dr. Apte. “But it’s a troubling trend.”
“Yes, it is scary. 但大发娱乐的反应不应该是恐惧，而应该是卷起袖子解决问题.”
The reasons why this shift is happening are unknown. Dr. 阿普特说，科学家们对癌症的致病因子有了更好的了解，比如环境污染物, smoking, obesity, and diet—than they did 25 years ago.
一方面，大发娱乐觉得随着科学的进步，大发娱乐变得越来越健康. Apte. “But with the trend of younger people getting cancer, 就知识而言，大发娱乐几乎是在倒退. 我认为这是让很多看到这个的人非常不安的地方. It causes us to pause and scratch our heads.”
Breast, gastrointestinal, and female reproductive system cancers are the most common among younger people. The rise in colon cancer cases has received significant media attention, 尤其是在43岁的演员查德威克·博斯曼死于这种疾病之后. A study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute 发现虽然结肠癌的总体发病率在下降, 越来越多的年轻人患上这种疾病.
Uterine cancer cases are also on the rise, increasing 1% per year since the mid-2000s. 黑人、西班牙裔、亚裔美国人和太平洋岛民女性的这一比例更高.
由于这些疾病在老年患者中更为常见，因此早期癌症很难识别.
Trust your instincts
史黛西·埃尔南德斯年轻时在洛杉矶总是月经不规律. Sometimes she bled for weeks. Other times, she missed her period for months. 医生给她开了不同的避孕措施来调节她的生理周期, 但是大出血的间隔越来越大. 经过几次紧急护理，斯泰西已经受够了.
“Finally, I put my foot down,” says Stacy. “You need to check me for everything. This is not okay. I'm almost two years in with this bleeding.”
就在那时，她在加州的医生发现她患有一期子宫内膜癌. 他们通过手术切除了她子宫里的肿瘤，并告诉她要经常去看医生，监测自己的病情.
She’s glad she spoke up for herself.
“It’s your right to fight for answers. 如果你知道有什么不对劲，你总是可以要求另一位医生. 总有人会关心你，愿意大发娱乐你.”
“老实说，争取答案是你的权利，”斯泰西说. “如果你知道有什么不对劲，你总是可以 ask for another doctor. 总有人会关心你，愿意大发娱乐你.”
Stacy moved to Salt Lake City in 2020. 仅仅三年后，她发现癌症又复发了. 她又开始出血了，并感到头晕. 在担任特殊教育教师助理期间, 她的一个学生不小心用桌子打了她的后背.
“I was in such pain,” she says. “It was a pain that I would wish upon no one. 我甚至不能下床，我的工作就像是，‘你需要去检查一下.’”
她最终在2023年秋天来到了亨茨曼癌症研究所, 专家在哪里发现了三个肿瘤其中一个在她的子宫, one pressing against her spine, and one in her chest. 史黛西做了背部手术，现在每三周去亨茨曼癌症研究所接受化疗.
Don’t fear the future
医生不知道为什么史黛西被诊断出患有一种老年女性常见的癌症.
Dr. 阿普特说，要发现为什么年轻人患癌症的比例更高并不容易. 一些研究人员怀疑，加工食品和微塑料的流行可能是罪魁祸首.
“我的意思是，想象一下现在环境中所有100年前不存在的东西. 有太多东西需要学习，不幸的是，这需要时间. Apte. “数据将大发娱乐大发娱乐并指导大发娱乐完成这一过程. 在大发娱乐就致病因子作出结论之前，你需要一些信息. You need to prove, scientifically, what the cause is. 只有这样，你才能开始思考该怎么做.”
Until more data is available, Dr. Apte says young people should control what they can. 他建议避免吸烟、饮酒，并保持健康的体重. People should also be aware of their genetic history and stay up to date on screenings.
Dr. Apte补充说，尽管未知，但重要的是不要灾难化.
“Yes, it is scary,” says Dr. Apte. “但大发娱乐的反应不应该是恐惧，而应该是卷起袖子解决问题。. Which means studying the problem.”
Until then, Stacy encourages younger cancer patients to try stay positive and be there for each other.
“尽管有时真的很难，我也会感到沮丧. It hits me, what I'm going through. 但我对我的约会很兴奋，就像“今天是化疗日”!每个人都说，你这个怪人，你为什么要跳舞? Why are you happy to go to chemo?” says Stacy. “Because I know that it’s working. 我知道他们在尽一切努力让我好起来.”