From the U.S. Government Accountability Office, www.gao.gov Transcript for: Breast Cancer Education Description: Audio interview by GAO staff with Marcia Crosse, Director, Health Care Related GAO Work: GAO-17-19: Breast Cancer Education: HHS Has Implemented Initiatives Aimed at Young Women Released: October 2016 [ Background Music ] [ Narrator: ] Welcome to GAO's Watchdog Report, your source for news and information from the U.S. Government Accountability Office. It's October 2016. Breast cancer is often thought of as an older women's disease, but it also affects women under 45. Researchers have found that younger women with breast cancer tend to be diagnosed at a later stage, experience worse outcomes and face unique issues in their treatment such as worrying about how it will affect their fertility. A team led by Marcia Crosse, a director on GAO's Health Care team, recently looked at the federal government's efforts to provide or support breast cancer education for young women. Jacques Arsenault sat down with Marcia to talk about what they found. [ Jacques Arsenault: ] Breast cancer most commonly affects older women, but can you talk about the effects that it can have on younger women? [ Marcia Crosse: ] Yes. It's true. Breast cancer is mostly a disease of older women. About a quarter of a million women will be diagnosed with breast cancer every year, and about 11 percent of those are young women, and by young women, we mean women under age 45. So that means that there are about 27,000 cases a year in the United States of young women who develop breast cancer, and they have some particular challenges. For younger women, there may be concerns about caring for a young family. They may be concerned about their fertility. They may not have completed their family. They may also be more concerned than older women about their body image or about impacts of the cancer on their professional lives and so they have different concerns than older women may have. [ Jacques Arsenault: ] So then, what's the federal government's role in building awareness? [ Marcia Crosse: ] Well, in 2009, the government passed a law called the EARLY Act that required some additional focus on young women because of these special challenges that they have, and so the Centers for Disease Control and other components of the Department of Health and Human Services have been funding some additional research on prevention that's targeted specifically at the kinds of breast cancer that affects younger women. They've also been funding a public education campaign to try to put out more information that targets this group, and they funded some support grants for these women, and they're trying to educate health professionals about the special challenges and about being more aware that breast cancer can occur in young women. [ Jacques Arsenault: ] So it sounds like there's a combination of research and different programs to build awareness not only among young women but among the people that work with them, the healthcare professionals. Are there specific behaviors or steps that these programs are encouraging young women to do? [ Marcia Crosse: ] Yes. Well, they're specifically encouraging young women to know their risks. They should be talking to their family members to find out if there's any family history of breast cancer, particularly breast cancer among younger members. They may want to have some screening if they're in a particular ethnic group. They may want to be screened for what's called the BRCA gene, the B-R-C-A gene, which can significantly increase the likelihood that they could develop breast cancer at an early age. And so they're trying to get information out so that young women can take advantage of the resources that are available to understand their risks and to be screened and diagnosed early if they're at high risk. [ Jacques Arsenault: ] Let me ask you then. With the range of programs that Health and Human Services is putting out around this, do they seem to be effective from what your team has seen? [ Marcia Crosse: ] Well, it's really too early. This has only been going on for a few years, so it's too soon to know if they're effective. But they do seem to be targeting the areas that are of particular concern, and they're not duplicating the other kinds of efforts that are there for breast cancer. They're supplementing those programs with a particular emphasis on the younger women. [ Jacques Arsenault: ] So then finally, what would you say is the bottom line of this report? [ Marcia Crosse: ] I think the bottom line of this report is that young women should be taking advantage of the kind of resources that are being made available to them to understand their own risks and to take advantage of the information and support that's out there if they are at higher risk of developing breast cancer at a young age. [ Background Music ] [Narrator:] To learn more, visit GAO.gov and be sure to tune in to the next episode of GAO's Watchdog Report for more from the congressional watchdog, the U.S. Government Accountability Office.