When you are in your 20s and 30s, you have your whole life ahead of you. During this time, most women are starting their careers and starting families. But what happens when you get an unexpected diagnosis that rocks your world?
Entrepreneur Diamonique Valentine was 27 when she first shared her breast cancer diagnosis on Instagram in 2019.
Her diagnosis was stage 3 triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), an aggressive form of breast cancer because of how quickly it grows, according to the American Cancer Society.
She decided to go to the doctor after finding a lump on her breast, but admits that she never thought having cancer could happen to her.
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“That moment I was diagnosed it was like, ‘You have cancer. OK, you’re gonna die,'” Valentine shares.
“It just seemed unreal,” Valentine told CBS News. “It felt like a nightmare.”
With the support of her husband, Marcus, Valentine underwent 16 rounds of chemotherapy and a double mastectomy.
“Being there to support her has been one of the most amazing, biggest blessings that we’ve had, because a lot of people don’t have that,” Marcus Valentine shared at the time.
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Breast cancer in women under 40
Black women under 40 are more likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer than white women, according to a study published in the Journal of Surgical Research.
When cancer is found in young women, it is typically more aggressive and more difficult to treat, according to Dr. Margaret Thompson, a doctor in breast services at Cleveland Clinic Florida.
“In younger age women, the biology of the tumor tends to present with more
