Yale Early Onset Cancer Program

10/16/2026

𝗕𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝘁 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗮𝗴𝗲

According to the American Cancer Society, between 2013 and 2022, breast cancer incidence increased 📈 by approximately 1.4% per year among U.S. women younger than 50 —a faster increase than among women 50 and older.

💡 While breast cancer remains more common later in life, this trend raises important questions about why more younger women are being diagnosed. 𝗬𝗮𝗹𝗲 𝗖𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗿 𝗖𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿 researchers are working to better understand these trends, identify risk factors, and improve prevention and early detection.

Learn more about how 𝗬𝗮𝗹𝗲’𝘀 𝗘𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗢𝗻𝘀𝗲𝘁 𝗖𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗿 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺 supports young people with breast cancer at https://bit.ly/EO-Cancer-Yale

10/07/2026

Our Early Onset Cancer 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗡𝗘𝗖𝗧 team (Katia, Karen, Gabby, Kamie, and Jamie) has been busy connecting with our local community and building lasting relationships!

We recently attended 3️⃣ great events to raise awareness about early onset cancer, share information about our Early Onset Cancer 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗡𝗘𝗖𝗧 specialized patient navigation program, and support our patients!

Check out some photos from our team at

🚴‍♀️ The 2026 Closer to Free Ride benefiting Yale Cancer Center and Smilow Cancer Hospital

🏈 Pink Clover's 𝓟𝓲𝓷𝓴 𝓖𝓪𝓶𝓮 at the University of New Haven honoring breast cancer comfort recipients and selected patients from our EO CONNECT navigation program.

🎗The Gastroesophageal Patient & Community Symposium in partnership with Debbie's Dream Foundation: Curing Stomach Cancer at Smilow Cancer Hospital

We would love to hear from you if we connected over the past few weeks!

09/23/2026

Cancer diagnoses are on the rise among younger adults. 📈

Hear directly from young patients about their cancer experience and watch our own Dr. Thejal Srikumar discuss this concerning trend on NBC Connecticut's 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘔𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘭𝘺 𝘊𝘩𝘦𝘤𝘬𝘶𝘱 2-part segment.

▶️ https://www.nbcconnecticut.com/video/news/local/your-monthly-checkup-cancer-diagnoses-rise-among-younger-adults/3776948/

▶️ https://www.nbcconnecticut.com/video/news/local/your-monthly-checkup-colorectal-cancer-rates-rise-in-younger-adults/3777325/

Smilow Cancer Hospital

09/11/2026

𝗗𝗶𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗿 𝗱𝗶𝗮𝗴𝗻𝗼𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝗱𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘀 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝟱𝟬 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝗻𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝟴𝟬% 𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝟭𝟵𝟵𝟬⁉

👀 Watch our own Dr. Veda Giri's chat with WTNH News 8 on Good Morning Connecticut's 𝘠𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴 about the rise in early onset cancer.

🔗 https://www.wtnh.com/news/health/cancer-cases-among-young-people-has-increased-by-80-since-1990/

08/24/2026

Hear more about our 𝗘𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗢𝗻𝘀𝗲𝘁 𝗖𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗿 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺 from Program Director Dr. Veda Giri on 𝘊𝘛 𝘉𝘶𝘻𝘻: 𝘠𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘕𝘦𝘸 𝘏𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩 𝘊𝘩𝘦𝘤𝘬

👀
https://www.wtnh.com/video/sponsored-content-yale-new-haven-health-check-early-onset-cancer-program/12058737

Yale New Haven Hospital Smilow Cancer Hospital WTNH News 8

08/13/2026

"For years, cancer has been seen as a disease people mostly get when they’re older. That seems to be changing as more young people are getting cancer than ever before."

🎧 To learn more about what is driving the rise in early-onset cancers, listen to The New York Times The Daily podcast episode "Why Adults Are Getting Cancer at a Younger Age" on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.

https://youtu.be/2MU9myc1mPI?si=hjPCbaBiKjPekCES

Photo: Leah Nash for The New York Times

06/16/2026

The Early Onset Cancer Program's Co-Director, Dr. Veda Giri, recently talked with HealthQ on WPLN News - Nashville Public Radio about the rise in early onset cancers and how younger adults can take charge of their health:

Doctors weigh a patient’s personal risks, including their family history of cancer... Being vigilant about unusual body changes or symptoms — and reporting those to your physician — gives doctors the information they need to determine your personal risk for cancer.

“For example, a lump in the breast, abdominal pain, changes in bowel habits that really are not going away… blood in the stools… even symptoms such as unusual fatigue that doesn’t seem to go away. 𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗯𝗹𝘆 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝘆𝗺𝗽𝘁𝗼𝗺𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗱𝗼𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿."

Read more in our https://wpln.org/post/healthq-early-onset-cancers/

Smilow Cancer Hospital

In the U.S., more than a dozen kinds of cancer are on the rise among people under 50. The HealthQ team shares the latest guidance on being proactive with your family and doctor.

06/09/2026

🚨New publication alert! 🚨

Jamie Reedy, Nancy Borstelmann, and Veda Giri from the Early Onset Cancer team recently published an article 𝙀𝙭𝙥𝙡𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙘𝙪𝙧𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙘𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙧 𝙨𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙚𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙥𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙜𝙪𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙨 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙖𝙙𝙪𝙡𝙩𝙨 𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙜𝙚 50 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙐𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙎𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙨 in Frontiers Public Health: Early-Onset Cancers: Implications of Epidemiological Trends and Underlying Causes.

👀 Be sure to read our open-access (free) article to learn more about

*Screening for early onset cancer in adults under age 50
*Public health campaigns and national screening programs
*Critical challenges & facilitators to improved screening
*Key recommendations & strategies for cancer screening in younger adults.

✴ TL;DR ✴

𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀

𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗲
1. Know your family cancer history
2. Share your family cancer history with your doctor
3. Consider genetic testing if appropriate

𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀
1. Discuss individual and family cancer history with all patients
2. Discuss appropriate risk assessments and genetic testing when indicated
3. Develop personalized, risk-based cancer screening plan for adults under age 50 based on established US guidelines

𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀
1. Advance research on etiology, implementation, health behaviors, and health communication related to early onset cancers

𝗣𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰𝘆𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗿𝘀, 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗼𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀, & 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘀
1. Adapt national guidelines to incorporate new etiological research findings
2. Leverage emerging scientific evidence to advance payor coverage of risk-based cancer screening and genetic testing in adults under age 50
3. Develop multilingual and culturally-tailored resources for individuals and providers based on emerging health behavior and health communication research

https://bit.ly/EO-cancer-screening

05/29/2026

Yale's Early Onset Cancer Program will join the Fair Haven Community Health Care team for their 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝗖𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝗪𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻’𝘀 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗼 tomorrow!

📅 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻: Saturday, May 30, from 12 pm - 4 pm

📍𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲: 374 Grand Avenue in Fair Haven, CT

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁:
🩺 Health screenings
🥗 Wellness vendors
💬 Educational sessions
🎪 Family-friendly fun

Be sure to stop by the Early Onset Cancer Program's table and add to our community creative project: 𝙎𝙚𝙡𝙛-𝘾𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝘾𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙧 𝙞𝙨 𝙒𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣'𝙨 𝙃𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙩𝙝

You can also learn more about:
🧬 Cancer in adults under age 50
🔬 Who should get cancer screenings & when
🚲 Steps for preventing cancer
🎗️ Support for younger adults diagnosed with early onset cancer @ Yale Cancer Center

Smilow Cancer Hospital Fair Haven Community Health Care

05/21/2026

Did you miss our recent webinar on Screening for Early Onset Cancer? The recording is now available on our YouTube channel linked below.

This important discussion explores the growing impact of early onset cancers and the role of screening in some of the most common cancers including early onset breast cancer and early onset gastrointestinal cancer. Our expert panel discusses factors to think about and strategies for screening.

We invite you to watch and share this valuable resource:

1 like. "Screening for Early Onset Cancers: What You Need to Know"