Younger Asian American women had the second-lowest breast cancer rate. Why they're now tied for No. 1.

Since 2000, breast cancer among AAPI women under 50 has increased by 50%, more than 2% every year since 2012, according to a new report from the American Cancer Society.

Chien-Chi Huang was 40 when she requested her first mammogram at the hospital, shortly after her aunt died from breast cancer. The radiologist didn’t detect a tumor because she had dense breast tissue that can hide cancer on a mammogram.

Soon after the mammogram, Huang said she felt a lump under her armpit and began experiencing flu-like symptoms. Four months later, she was diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer, one of the most aggressive forms of the disease.

“As Asian Americans, we don’t have a prevention mindset and tend to only go to hospital when we’re sick,” said Huang, now 59 and an advocate for early screening among Asian American women.

Since 2000, breast cancer incidence among Asian American and Pacific Islander women under 50 years old has increased by 50%, more than 2% every year since 2012, according to a new report from the American Cancer Society.

Asian American and Pacific Islander women in this age cohort had the second-lowest rate of breast cancer among all racial groups in 2000. They now have the highest rate alongside white women, about 86 per 100,000.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/asian-american-women-breast-cancer-rcna175273

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