Friends, family and even strangers began asking me confrontational questions:Had I eaten too much red meat? It was natural to want a tangible reason for a healthy young person to suddenly be facing a life-threatening disease, wasn’t it? And though we may wish otherwise, avoiding known lifestyle risk factors does not safeguard a person from cancer. At this point, I’ve lost count of how often I’ve had to reassure a newly diagnosed person that they’re not to blame for getting sick. In particular, cancer among young women has skyrocketed, with diagnosis rates in women under 50 now 82% higher than in their male counterparts.

Source: Huffington Post February 23, 2026 17:27 UTC