‘Catching Breast Cancer Early at 31 Years Old Saved My Life-Here's What I Wish Everyone Knew About Early Detection'

While deaths from breast cancer have declined greatly in the U.S. (a whopping 44% since 1989), breast cancer diagnoses are unfortunately on the rise, according to the American Cancer Society.

As with any cancer, early diagnosis is key to overcoming breast cancer. When it's caught early, the five-year survival rate is greater than 90%. (This means that more than 90% of women diagnosed with stage 1 or stage 2 breast cancer live at least five years after diagnosis, and typically live much longer than five years past diagnosis). But the later breast cancer is diagnosed, the lower the survival rate is. Once cancer has spread beyond the breast tissue, the five-year survival rate drops to 31%.

Related: 'I Had Zero Symptoms When I Was Diagnosed With Breast Cancer at 39-Here's What I Wish I'd Known'

It's recommended that women of average risk for breast cancer get regular mammograms from age 40 to 74. But if you have a family history of breast cancer, it's recommended to be screened earlier. Lucy Abrams, a therapist who lives in Ohio, knows this firsthand. Here, she shares her health journey and what she wants everyone to know about early breast cancer detection, especially if you have a genetic predisposition.

Related: The One Thing Experts Say You Should Never, Ever Do if You Want To Lower Your Risk of Breast Cancer

The Importance of Knowing Your Risk

Abrams knew from a relatively young age that she had a family history of breast cancer.

"A bunch of women on my mom's side of the family had breast cancer, so my mom ended up getting genetic testing done when she was 40 to find out if she had [a mutation of] the BRCA1 gene," she tells Parade.

BRCA1 (BReast CAncer gene 1) and BRCA2 (BReast CAncer gene 2) are genes that produce proteins that help repair damaged DNA. Everyone has two copies of each gene, one copy inherited from each parent. People who inherit a mutation of one of these genes have an increased risk of several types of cancer, including breast cancer. According to the National Cancer Institute, 60% of women who inherit a harmful change in BRCA1 or BRCA2 will develop breast cancer.

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When Abrams' mom found out she had a mutated BRAC1 gene, Abrams says that her doctor told her to get tested for the gene when she was 25. "There was a 50% chance I would have the [mutated] gene and if I had it, the risk of getting breast cancer was high," Abrams explains.

Knowing this, she followed the doctors' advice and underwent genetic testing. Like her mom, Abrams also ended up having a mutation of the BRCA1 gene. "Because of this, I knew that it was really important for me to stay on top of my breast cancer screenings," Abrams shares.

In the summer of 2023, she went for a routine doctor's appointment. She had kept up with getting regular mammograms to screen for breast cancer, only missing one. When her doctor did a breast exam, she felt a lump and recommended Abrams get a mammogram and ultrasound.

Related: The #1 Early Breast Cancer Sign Most People Miss

During the ultrasound, the radiologist found a tumor, which was sent to be biopsied. The tumor turned out to be breast cancer. "I first found out through a message in MyChart. It said it was an invasive ductal carcinoma, which I immediately Googled," Abrams says. Her doctor called her an hour later to confirm and explain the diagnosis.

As anyone would be, Abrams was shaken by the news. She was only 31 and was in the middle of planning her wedding. Even though she had a family history of breast cancer, she had been staying on top of screenings and doctor's appointments, doing everything she could to look after her health. It didn't seem fair. It wasn't fair.

"My mom and fiancé went with me to my doctor's appointment the following week, which is where I was given my prognosis and cancer stage. I had stage 2 invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC)," Abrams says.

Drastic Highs and Lows

Receiving a breast cancer diagnosis completely altered Abrams' life.

"Everything was happening really fast," Abrams tells Parade. She and her fiancé moved into Abrams' parents' house to be closer to Cleveland Clinic, where Abrams was being treated.

Before she had time to process her diagnosis, her calendar was filled with appointments for chemotherapy.

"Originally, the treatment plan was for me to do 16 rounds of chemo and then have a double mastectomy," Abrams says. She also had to consider questions she had never thought about before, such as whether she wanted to freeze and preserve her eggs or if she wanted to meet with a plastic surgeon after her double mastectomy.

And though she loved her job as a therapist, chemo completely wiped Abrams out and she had to cut her client list way down.

"I had to reprioritize everything, which was really hard," she says. Though there were many hard moments, there were some bright ones too, such as Abrams' wedding day. "We got married in Scotland surrounded by our immediate family and close friends, which was really great," she shares.

Abrams hit her hardest moment after nine rounds of chemo. "I started getting really dizzy, to the point where I wasn't even able to make it up the stairs. I didn't even feel human anymore," she says. Abrams met with her oncologist and underwent MRIs, which showed that her tumor was completely gone.

Given this improvement, Abrams' oncologist told her she didn't have to continue chemo. "The chemo had completely killed the cancer, which is awesome," Abrams says. This was December 2023, at which point she was declared completely cancer-free.

Though the chemo worked, Abrams moved forward with getting a double mastectomy. "Because of the genetic mutation, my plan was always to get a double mastectomy when I was 40 because my cancer risk was so high," Abrams explains, adding that getting cancer meant she would just do it earlier than planned.

She also plans to get a hysterectomy in the next few years to eliminate the body's primary source of estrogen, which will lower her risk of getting breast cancer again.

What She Wants Everyone To Know

Now, at 34, Abrams is cancer-free. This is largely because she knew her risk and took action by staying on top of regular cancer screenings and doctors' appointments. That's how her cancer was caught early.

"What I hope people will take away the most from my story is to not skip cancer screenings," Abrams says. "Some people don't want to be screened for cancer because they don't want to know if they have it, but it's way less scary to know if you have cancer than to not know and for it to get worse."

Abrams also stresses that it's important to advocate for yourself. If you feel like something is "off" with your body, speak up. If your doctor doesn't take it seriously, seek out a second opinion. No one knows your body better than you.

If you don't know if breast cancer runs in your family, consider discussing genetic testing with your primary care doctor. The more you know about your body, the more proactive you can be in terms of your health. For Abrams, this intel saved her life. It just might save yours, too.

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Sources:

• Breast Cancer Incidence Still Rises and Death Rate Still Declines. American Cancer Society
• Breast Cancer Prognosis and Survival Rates. National Cancer Institute
• Breast Cancer: Screening. U.S. Preventive Services Task Force
• BRCA Gene Changes: Cancer Risk and Genetic Testing. National Cancer Institute
• Invasive Ductal Carcinoma. Cleveland Clinic

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This story was originally published April 25, 2026 at 2:25 PM.