Welcome back to Wellness on Mass.

I'm Dr. Nicole Sapphire.

I'm a mom.

I'm a physician.

And not only do I diagnose breast cancer as my day job, I'm also an advocate for my patients.

And that's honestly how I've gotten involved into health policy,

on TV, and even this podcast, because I truly believe that patients know their body better than

anyone else. And I want to make sure people are listening to them. Well, October is Breast Cancer

Awareness Month. And this year, those pink ribbons carry urgency,

because the numbers are shifting in unsettling ways.

Breast cancer cases are on the rise, and I'm not talking about our grandmas or our great-grandmas.

I'm talking about younger women getting breast cancer.

Over the past decade, incidents in women under 50 has climbed over 1.4% every single year.

Among women ages 20 to 49, a recent study showed invasive breast cancer rates increasing nearly 1%

annually, even steeper rises since 2013. Now, I know those numbers may sound small to you, but one to two

percent, we're talking thousands more people being diagnosed with breast cancer. What's more,

younger women tend to face more aggressive disease and unfortunately a worse prognosis when

they're diagnosed. Now, these trends underscore an uncomfortable truth. Breast cancer is no longer a problem that, you know, starts later. In that light, I am absolutely honored to welcome Tudor Dixon to Wellness en masse. You probably know her from all of her work. You may have heard her on the Clay and Buck Podcast Network as well. She's part of the family, but she is first and foremost a mom, and she's

also a breast cancer survivor. Her journey through her diagnosis, treatment, and recovery

is a powerful example of courage, resilience, and now she is being an advocate for others.

Together, we're going to peel back the layers when it comes to early detection,

navigating life after cancer, and how motherhood and survivorship interweave. Because while I can

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