While people often associate cancer with aging, a recent report from the American Cancer Society’s (ACS) 2025 findings shows that middle-aged and younger adults, particularly women, are experiencing a surge of the disease. Although survival rates for cancer have improved overall with technological advancements, this trend is shifting as women are facing cancer at higher rates than men. This change raises concerns about women’s health and highlights the growing importance of preventive healthcare, according to The New York Times.
The 2025 ACS statistics reveal that cancer rates in women under 50 have surpassed those in men. According to the report, the rate for cancer diagnosis in females under 50 in 2021 was 82 percent higher than for males, up from 51 percent higher in 2002. In fact, women under 50 are almost two times as likely to develop cancer than middle-aged men, according to cancer.org. The data also highlights significant gender differences in specific cancer types. As of 2021, doctors diagnose women with lung cancer more frequently than men. Specifically, they diagnose 15.7 cases per 100,000 women under 65, compared to 15.4 cases per 100,000 men in the same age range. Smoking remains the leading cause of preventable death in the United States (US). However, lung cancer rates have been decreasing more rapidly in men than in women. In addition, breast cancer rates have risen by one percent annually from 2012 to 2021, with the most significant increase observed in women under 50. Factors contributing to this rise may include changes in fertility patterns, delayed childbirth, genetics, family history, and heavy drinking, according to The New York Times.
As the age of diagnosis for women grows younger, the ACS report calls attention to the increasing significance of preventive healthcare visits. Recent surveys show that many women have been delaying gynecological appointments, leading to a rise in cervical cancer diagnoses among women aged 30 to 44. A Harris Poll survey conducted last year for the medical technology company, Becton Dickinson (BD), found that 72 percent of over 1,100 US women had postponed a doctor’s visit that would have included screening. This increase in cancer diagnoses points to broader concerns about women’s health, stressing the need for more frequent screenings, according to The New York Times.
Despite these statistics, the cancer mortality rate continues to decline due to ongoing advancements in technology and detection methods. Factors such as reduced smoking, early detection, treatment innovations, and lifestyle changes have contributed to prolonged life expectancy. Over the past 30 years, the cancer mortality rate in the US has decreased by 34 percent, equating to 4.5 million lives. While cancer rates are rising among young women, steady declines persist in the four most common types which include breast, colorectal, lung, and prostate, according to cancer.org. However, early-onset cancers are now affecting younger individuals who were not previously at high risk. Ms. Rebecca Siegel, the Senior Scientific Director of Cancer Surveillance Research at the ACS, noted that increased stress, particularly in women, may contribute to cancer incidence, according to npr.org.
“Continued reductions in cancer mortality because of drops in smoking, better treatment and earlier detection is certainly great news,” Ms. Siegel said, according to npr.org. “However, this progress is tempered by rising incidence in young and middle-aged women, who are often the family caregivers, and a shifting cancer burden from men to women.”
Experts emphasize that in addition to lifestyle, genetics, and family history, environmental factors also play a significant role in early-onset cancer. While public health efforts have largely focused on older adults and those with higher risk, emerging research suggests that the risk factors in young people may differ. For instance, studies now indicate that maintaining regular sleeping patterns along with other lifestyle and behavioral changes, may help reduce cancer risks. Dr. Neil Iyengar, an oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, observed that the rising incidence of cancer among young people likely points to environmental and lifestyle factors as key contributors, according to The New York Times.
“I think that the rise in not just one but a variety of cancers in younger people, particularly in young women, suggests there is something broader going on than variations in individual genetics or population genetics,” Dr. Iyengar said, according to The New York Times. “It strongly points to the possibility that environmental exposures and our lifestyles in the U.S. are contributing to the rise of cancers in younger people.”
Featured Image by Brianna Timlin ’26
