WEBVTT - Why are so many young women getting cancer?

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<v Speaker 1>Oh hello, Welcome to Healthy Ish, your daily podcasts from

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<v Speaker 1>Body and Soul. I'm your host, Felicity Harley. You've no

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<v Speaker 1>doubt read the headlines. You've seen the statistics breast cancer

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<v Speaker 1>in young women is increasing pretty concerning, isn't it? So?

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<v Speaker 1>The big question why and what can you do to

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<v Speaker 1>help protect yourself no matter what your age? Well, I'm

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<v Speaker 1>joined today by Cure Cancer postdoctoral researcher at the Olivia

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<v Speaker 1>Newton John Cancer Research Institute, doctor Kelly Moushmore. Of course,

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<v Speaker 1>we are highlighting Breast Cancer Awareness Month. She's going to

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<v Speaker 1>talk about all of the above, these scary statistics and

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<v Speaker 1>how you can protect yourself. Make sure you're listening to

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<v Speaker 1>Extra healthy Ish, our sister podcast, where Kelly discusses the

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<v Speaker 1>impact of family history on your likelihood of breast cancer.

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<v Speaker 1>You can get that wherever you get your podcasts. Kelly,

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<v Speaker 1>thank you for us on Healthy Today. How are you?

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<v Speaker 2>I'm great, Thank you so much for having me. I'm

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<v Speaker 2>really happy to discuss some things about breast cancer.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, I'm so glad we've got you on this podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>We should have got you on a lot earlier. But

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<v Speaker 1>as we all know, the stats are increasing more young

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<v Speaker 1>women are getting cancer. Why the increase? What's going on

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<v Speaker 1>out there?

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, it's a really complex issue and we currently don't

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<v Speaker 2>have a clear answer. So for melanoma, we know that

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<v Speaker 2>sun exposure is a really important risk factor, and we

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<v Speaker 2>know with lung cancer, smoking is really important. But breast

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<v Speaker 2>cancer is a bit trickier. We know that if young

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<v Speaker 2>women have inherited a mutation so you might have heard

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<v Speaker 2>of bracker before, this can lead to very aggressive disease

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<v Speaker 2>that can appear really early. But in terms of general risk,

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<v Speaker 2>this can be a combination of a lot of lifestyle factors,

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<v Speaker 2>so alcohol intake, maybe leading a more sedentary lifestyle, so

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<v Speaker 2>lack of exercise and being overweight, and also how our

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<v Speaker 2>lives are different now we're having children at a later

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<v Speaker 2>age and having less children, So together all of these

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<v Speaker 2>factors could potentially lead to increase risk. But in saying that,

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<v Speaker 2>breast cancer can also happen in perfectly healthy young women.

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<v Speaker 2>So there's still a lot that we really don't know

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<v Speaker 2>or understand.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, I think that's well said. I mean, there's no

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<v Speaker 1>one reason it could be this. It could be this,

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<v Speaker 1>it could be this. I mean, we don't really know

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<v Speaker 1>as yet, and it's really concerning, especially when you see

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<v Speaker 1>the Cape Middleton headlines, and I mean the headlines. Obviously,

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<v Speaker 1>if we're a young woman and young women is under

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<v Speaker 1>fifty is and is that what you categorize the age

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<v Speaker 1>bracket ads.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, so early breast early cancers are classified as people

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<v Speaker 2>under the age of fifty. But often when people are

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<v Speaker 2>talking about early breast cancer, they're talking about under the

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<v Speaker 2>age of forty. And so when we see the statistics,

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<v Speaker 2>we have seen that in Australia there'll be one thousand

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<v Speaker 2>women under the age of forty who are diagnosed with

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<v Speaker 2>breast cancer each year.

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<v Speaker 1>Gosh, that's a lot. Talk to us about triple negative

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<v Speaker 1>breast cancer now and why this is well relevant to

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<v Speaker 1>those women under thirty specifically.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, So when we're diagnosed with breast cancer, a pathologist

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<v Speaker 2>looks at our tumor and will classify it into a type.

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<v Speaker 2>And triple negative is a type that is found in

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<v Speaker 2>around ten to fifteen percent of all breast cancer patients.

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<v Speaker 2>And it's called triple negative because it's missing three things

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<v Speaker 2>that are found on other types of breast cancer. And

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<v Speaker 2>these things are to do with hormones. So because triple

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<v Speaker 2>negative patients missing these things to do with hormones. They

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<v Speaker 2>aren't eligible for therapies that other type of breast cancer

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<v Speaker 2>patients get where we try to block the effects of hormones,

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<v Speaker 2>and it's because they're not eligible for these therapies that

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<v Speaker 2>they have really limited treatment options, so usually just chemotherapy,

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<v Speaker 2>which sometimes isn't that effective, and triple negative patients often

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<v Speaker 2>see quite aggressive disease that's likely to recur.

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<v Speaker 1>So what's your research, because your research is specifically on

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<v Speaker 1>this area, tell us a bit about well, what you're

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<v Speaker 1>trying to find.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, so my interest is mostly in a treatment called immunotherapy,

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<v Speaker 2>and immunotherapy has kind of been a game changer for

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<v Speaker 2>triple negative breast cancer. So it was approved in Australia

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<v Speaker 2>around two years ago and it's a way to kind

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<v Speaker 2>of supercharge our immune system to try and fight off

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<v Speaker 2>the breast cancer. But we currently don't know who it

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<v Speaker 2>will and won't benefit, so it only actually helps about

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<v Speaker 2>fifty percent of triple negative patients. So my current work,

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<v Speaker 2>which I want to give a shout out, is funded

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<v Speaker 2>by a wonderful Australian charity called Cure Cancer. What I'm

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<v Speaker 2>doing is I'm looking at samples from triple negative patients

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<v Speaker 2>who have had immunotherapy and trying to find out what

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<v Speaker 2>it is about their tumor that meant that they had

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<v Speaker 2>a good or a not so good response to immune therapy.

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<v Speaker 1>So you think it's more to do with the tumor

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<v Speaker 1>rather than how their bodies, how their immune systems fighting

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<v Speaker 1>fighting it.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, So we often see in the tumor that the

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<v Speaker 2>immune system is trying to get rid of the cancer,

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<v Speaker 2>but it's either stuck at the edges of the cancer

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<v Speaker 2>and can't get in, or the tumor cells have kind

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<v Speaker 2>of told the immune system to go to sleep, like

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<v Speaker 2>there's nothing here, nothing to see. You just lay low

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<v Speaker 2>and I'll continue to grow and spread. So we call

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<v Speaker 2>that immune exhaustion. So that can happen as well. And

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<v Speaker 2>there's no sort of one thing that's happening in triple negative.

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<v Speaker 2>Every patient can have a completely different looking tumor.

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<v Speaker 1>Wow, I mean that must be equally frustrating and equally

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<v Speaker 1>inspiring to try and find the answer to it. Now,

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<v Speaker 1>just back to general breast cancer or all different types

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<v Speaker 1>of breast cancer. The current recommendation for the MAMMA grand

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<v Speaker 1>the breast screening is age fifty to seventy four years.

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<v Speaker 1>I mean for a woman who is under that, that

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<v Speaker 1>can be quite concerning. Do you think we should make

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<v Speaker 1>this younger or should women be putting their hand up

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<v Speaker 1>in having these? I mean, I don't think we can

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<v Speaker 1>can I'm not quite sure of when you over forty

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<v Speaker 1>that you can have it, because I've definitely had a few.

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<v Speaker 2>Well, I think that the current breast screen program is

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<v Speaker 2>for women above fifty, but that is actually for a

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<v Speaker 2>very good reason, and it's because breast screening is normally

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<v Speaker 2>conducted by a mammogram, and mammograms aren't especially good at

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<v Speaker 2>picking up breast cancer in young women. And this is

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<v Speaker 2>actually because younger women tend to have more dense breast tissue,

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<v Speaker 2>and so the mammogram can't potentially see the tumor within

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<v Speaker 2>the really dense breast tissue. So mammograms aren't great for

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<v Speaker 2>younger women. Instead, you're more likely to need something like

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<v Speaker 2>an ultrasound. And I would say that if younger women

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<v Speaker 2>do have a strong family history of breast cancer, then

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<v Speaker 2>they're pretty likely to already have an arrangement with their

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<v Speaker 2>clinician where they would be having increased screening via ultrasound.

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<v Speaker 1>Now, for everyone listening. What is the most important thing

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<v Speaker 1>we can do to lower our breast cancer right now today?

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, Well, a lot of things just aren't within our control.

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<v Speaker 2>But something that we can control is just trying to

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<v Speaker 2>lead a healthy lifestyle, so maintaining a good level of

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<v Speaker 2>physical activity, not smoking, and limiting our alcohol intake, and

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<v Speaker 2>maintaining a healthy weight. So these are all things that

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<v Speaker 2>could help. But as I said, we can only control

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<v Speaker 2>so much, and it's kind of just by virtue of

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<v Speaker 2>us having breasts that we're at risk of breast cancer.

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<v Speaker 2>So I think that being breast aware, that's something that

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<v Speaker 2>we say is the best possible prevention. So just regularly

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<v Speaker 2>checking our breasts for any abnormal changes and then following

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<v Speaker 2>any of these concerns up with our GP. And so

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<v Speaker 2>when breast cancer is caught early, the treatments are usually

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<v Speaker 2>much more successful and our risk of the cancer coming

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<v Speaker 2>back after treatment is really reduced. So prevention here is key.

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<v Speaker 1>Breast aware. I love that slogan. Kelly, Thank you for

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<v Speaker 1>coming on healthy.

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<v Speaker 2>Ish, Thanks so much for having me.

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<v Speaker 1>Folks take Kelly's advice check your breasts, No, you're normal,

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<v Speaker 1>be breast aware. Thank you for tuning into this chat.

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<v Speaker 1>With Kelly. If you enjoyed it, tell us, rate and

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<v Speaker 1>review this episode, subscribe to this podcast. If you do

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<v Speaker 1>have any ideas for any upcoming epps in the lid

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<v Speaker 1>up to Christmas, dm me at Felicity Harley. Also make

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<v Speaker 1>sure you're following us on social media via Body and

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<v Speaker 1>Soul jump online, bodyansoul dot com dot you grab our

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<v Speaker 1>print edition which is out in your local Sunday paper

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<v Speaker 1>And until next time you listen, hopefully tomorrow, Stay healthy

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<v Speaker 1>ish