There is no accepted definition of ‘young’ as it applies in the context of breast cancer. For the purposes of these guidelines, younger women are defined as women aged 40 years or less at breast cancer diagnosis, unless otherwise indicated. However, it should be recognised that many issues that are relevant to the clinical management and support of these women may also be pertinent for women of other age groups, depending on their life stage.
There are varied age classifications used for ‘younger’ and ‘older’ in the literature. For example, in clinical trials participants are often classified according to menopausal status:‘younger’women are premenopausal and/or aged less than 50 years, and ‘older’women are post-menopausal and/or aged 50 years or older.1 Many pathological studies report specific results pertaining to women aged 35 years or less; these studies suggest that disease factors appear to be different for this age group compared with older women.2 A range of age classifications is also employed in the psychosocial literature. Studies variously define ‘younger’ as less than 60 years,3 less than 50 years,4-6 less than 45 years,7 or less than 40 years.8 Other researchers have avoided using chronological age, instead relying on defining indicators such as having young children, not having reached menopause, and being of child-bearing age.9
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