In his view, there was little reason to be suspicious: Her prior appointments had been uneventful, she had no known family history of breast cancer, and of course, there was her age: young. Within three weeks, she was diagnosed with breast cancer: stage 3 invasive ductal carcinoma. That means a growing number of young women may be at high risk of breast cancer, even without having a noticeable symptom like Michelle’s. This is the same demo largely not captured by breast cancer screening guidelines, which start at age 40—and dictate both access and insurance coverage. It’s a perfect storm that helps explain why women under 40 who get breast cancer are nearly 40% more likely to die from it than their older counterparts.