Am I Too Young?
Many times I get this question: How old should I be to have cancer? How old is the youngest person known to have this form of cancer.
The answer is hard to give. First of all, there are not enough reports about people diagnosed with cancer all around the world. And, I look in the eyes of the person asking me this question and I tell him/her: I don’t know how old you should be to have cancer. I suppose nobody is too old or too young for this dreadful disease.
I was doing some research these days and I will tell you what I found out. You sh
ould know I won’t talk about cancers that are usually more frequent during childhood (like neuroblastoma, hepatoblastoma, retinoblastoma or nephroblastoma). I will tell you about tumors more frequent in adult age.
So, look what I found:
The youngest person diagnosed with breast cancer was a girl about 14 years old. Myself, I saw a 16 year boy with breast cancer.
19 years old was the youngest person with gastric (stomach) cancer and he was diagnosed in Bombay, India.
I saw a 17 year boy with colorectal cancer, but I must say he also suffered from a severe form of mental retardation and an eating disorder called “pica” (he was eating soil, clay or hair).
The youngest patient with ovarian cancer that I’m aware of was 4 year old in the moment she was diagnosed.
A 3 year girl was diagnosed with endometrial cancer in Zagreb.
The youngest patient with lung cancer was an 18 year boy who never smoked.
I read about a patient diagnosed with prostate cancer when he was 39 years old.
There are many other things to say about cancer at young age and I’m waiting your opinion on this subject. But what I wanted you to understand is that you are never too young for cancer.
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Comments
Dear Chris,
You are indeed the youngest man diagnosed with prostate cancer that I heard and I’m very sorry to say that.
Unfortunately, the Gleason score isn’t great. Being so young gives you strenght to fight and defeat this damn disease.
Thank you for your comment and I will keep you in my mind.
Good luck!
Cristiana
Just turned 38 in February. 5 days ago I was diagnosed with Prostate Cancer. Gleason score of 3 4. Youngest ever in this particular office.