Young women are now nearly twice as likely to develop cancer as young men in the United States—but there’s no reason why.
According to a new report by the American Cancer Society, new findings show that women under the age of 50 are now 82 percent more likely to develop cancer than their male counterparts.
The organization noted that this pattern includes an increase in lung cancer, which is now more common in women younger than 65 than in men.
The reason for the increase is multifaceted. Cancer rates in young men declined at the turn of the century and have continued to decline. Among women, however, it is climbing. Breast and thyroid cancer are the two leading types of cancer that are increasing in women.
“Breast and thyroid cancer account for nearly half of all cancer diagnoses in women younger than 50,” said Rebecca Siegel, lead author of the report and chief scientific officer for surveillance research at the American Cancer Society.

There are also changes in screening methods that can help the results.
“We’re seeing for the first time that if you’re a woman under 65, you’re now more likely to get cancer than men in the same age group,” said Dr. William Dahoot, chief scientific officer of Cancer America. community, told CNN.
Another thing is that we’re seeing a change in—at the time of cancer diagnosis—the age at which patients are diagnosed with cancer.