Summary: | The economic burden of breast cancer for women under 50 in the United States remains largely unexplored, in part because young women make up a small proportion of breast cancer cases overall. To address this knowledge gap, we conducted a web-based survey to compare data from breast cancer survivors 18-39 years of age at first diagnosis and 40-49 years of age at first diagnosis. We administered a survey to a national convenience sample of 416 women who were 18-49 years of age at the time of their breast cancer diagnosis. We analyzed factors associated with financial decline using multivariate regression. Survivors 18-39 years of age at first diagnosis were more likely to report Stage II-IV breast cancer (P < 0.01). They also quit their jobs more often (14.6%) than older survivors (4.4%; P < 0.01) and faced more job performance issues (55.7% and 42.8%, respectively; P = 0.02). For respondents in both groups, financial decline was more likely if the survivor had at least one comorbid condition (odds ratios: 2.36-3.21) or was diagnosed at Stage II-IV breast cancer (odds ratios: 2.04-3.51)
|