Rise in aggressive forms of cancer in younger adults prompts researchers to do a deeper dive
The first few decades of adulthood are a time to focus on a career, make new friends, find a partner and maybe even travel.
Cancer is not on that list. But with every passing year, aggressive forms of this disease are occurring in more and more younger adults, striking in the prime of their lives.
We'll be taking a closer look at the "Changing Face of Cancer," a series where we examine the big picture and the difficult cards young adults are dealt.
We'll also be bringing you stories of hope and resilience in the face of this devastating diagnosis.
What is it like to face cancer years before it's supposed to be a concern?
"It's not something that's common in 36-year-olds," said Chris Norton, a colon cancer patient.
"What happens to the girls if we both go? These are not conversations 39-year-old parents should be having," said Zak Salazar, who was diagnosed with glioblastoma at age 38.
"Here I was at 49, and my doctor indicated that it was likely growing for nearly two years in my prostate," said Tom Brown of Loma Linda.
Cancers that historically affected people in their 60s and 70s are now occurring in the 40s, 30s and even 20s.
The American Cancer Society says early-onset cancer, a diagnosis between the ages of 18 and 49, is rising one to two percent annually.
"For some reason, younger people in our society are getting cancer," said Dr. Edward S. Kim, physician-in-chief at City of Hope.
Young celebrities coming forward with their stories are mounting.
Worldwide researchers predict that between 2019 and 2030 cases of young adult cancers will jump a staggering 30 percent.
"This might be one of the most dramatic shifts in who gets cancer we've seen in a short period of time," said Dr. Arif Kamal, chief patient officer at the American Cancer Society.
Meet Cori and Zak Salazar. They are both 40 years old.
Eleven years ago, this Mission Viejo couple fell in love.
"We met on Tinder when it first came out. Yeah, we swiped. We both swiped. Yup," they both said.
Cori and Zak married after a few years of dating.
"Three kids later, here we are. Our girls are incredible," said Zak.
Juniper, 6, Riley, 4, and Luna, 3, revel in their dad's park ranger adventures, which Zak parlayed into a YouTube show.
"So much fun for us to film, and we get to be creative together," said Cori Salazar.
But their passion project came to a halt when the unthinkable happened. In early 2023, Cori's mom noticed a bump on her throat.
"I looked in the mirror, and sure enough there's this huge lump in my neck. Thyroid cancer normally is slow-growing, but this one was a very fast-growing cancer," she said.
"To hear her voice coming over the phone saying, 'The doctor says that it is cancer.' It's just a shock, of course," said Zak.
After removing part of Cori's thyroid, doctors realized they needed to go back and remove all of it. As she was recovering from her second surgery, the attention turned to Zak.
"He was complaining of headaches, and we were trying to figure it out," said Cori.
He went to an optometrist for new glasses. An eye exam raised a red flag.
"She said your optic nerves are swollen," said Zak.
He then went to a retinal specialist, who took a closer look. He told Zak the cause could be quite serious.
"Jokingly, I was like, oh, like what? I have a brain tumor. He looked at me, and he's like, yeah, maybe. Maybe," he said.
Emergency brain surgery confirmed Zak's worst fears. At 38, doctors diagnosed him with a highly aggressive and malignant brain tumor.
"Glioblastoma is just about the worst cancer you can get. The worst cases? Their prognosis is typically 12 to 18 months," said Zak.
The Salazar's represent the changing face of cancer.
In the last few years, I've met dozens of local early-onset cancer patients, and new research confirms one county appears to have a higher concentration of cancer cases in people under 50.
"Particularly, breast cancer is one of the things we're seeing a lot of," said City of Hope Radiation Oncologist Dr. Amanda Schwer.
One of those patients is Mission Viejo resident Juliette Landgrave.
"I found the lump in my right breast, and it was the size of a bean when I found it. Within a couple of months, it had grown to the size of an orange," she said.
Diagnosed right before her 38th birthday.
"I had two tumors, both triple-negative breast cancer, which usually affects women who are younger," Landgrave said.
Patients like Landgrave prompted City of Hope researchers to do a deeper dive into the numbers.
"We looked at five counties across California to see what the incidence was, especially in younger folks. And what we saw in Orange County was that it had the highest incidence of younger folks with breast cancer as well as several other cancers, when compared to LA County, San Diego County, San Bernardino and others," said Dr. Edward S. Kim.
Kim said lung cancer cases in people under 50, and especially those in the Asian and Latino populations, represent a significant number of new patients annually.
"You don't have to smoke to get lung cancer," Kim said.
But the answer to the million-dollar question remains elusive.
"We don't know why. A lot of things we have to observe first in medicine and then figure out why," he said.
"I have concerns that it's going to get worse because we don't know exactly what's causing it, and without knowing the exact cause, you can't head it off at the pass."
All week long, Circle of Health reporter Denise Dador brings you special reports taking a closer look at The Changing Face of Cancer.
