Influencer Eloïse Appelle diagnosed with breast cancer at 26. Young women more often affected?

The message accompanied by a series of black and white photos is addressed to his followers and his companion, Anthony Nacca.

Aggressive breast cancer diagnosed at age 26

Eloïse Appelle was discovered in the program The Marseillais in the Caribbean in which she met her companion Anthony Nacca. The couple had a little daughter Valentina, seen in the show Moms & famous. Currently, the couple is on air in Apprentice Adventurers on W9.

The young woman says she learned of the breast cancer diagnosis on February 8: “I felt empty, devastated, scared but at the same time I never felt more alive than in the last few weeks. I was living through my dreams, my projects and my goals, I had forgotten to enjoy the present moment so despite everything, life and this cancer came to remind me of the importance of the word: LIVE! Of course it is an ordeal, each chemotherapy is an unpleasant and devastating feeling, where I have the feeling of losing my footing but I want to go through it all with a smile“.

After thanking her companion for his support, she concludes with: “Take care of yourself and your loved ones, savor every moment, every second, don’t wait to enjoy life, it is so beautiful but it can be so unpredictable“.

More and more cancers before the age of 40?

We can’t help but think of the breast cancer that Caroline Receveur must face or the one that led Alice Detollenaere to a preventive double mastectomy… Are breast cancers becoming more and more common among young women?

According to the Institut Curie website, “Breast cancer affects 58,459 women each year. If the median age at diagnosis is 64 years old, nearly 3,000 women are under 40 years old. Their incidence has been increasing in recent years in almost all age groups, with an average increase of +1.1% per year between 1990 and 2018 and +0.6% per year over the recent period 2010- 2018″. Still according to the Institute “Breast cancer has a good prognosis regardless of age. Among young women, before the age of 45, survival is high (90% at 5 years), almost identical to that of other women (92% at 5 years between 45 and 75 years old).“.

But are young women today more affected than older ones? Dr Clough, surgical oncologist at the Breast Institute, told us: “There are more and more cancers among young women, but this is because there are more and more cancers. The rate of breast cancer in women under 40 is 5%. We have doubled the number of breast cancers in young women, but we have also doubled the total number of breast cancers. So the rate of breast cancer for those under 40 is identical“.

An observation confirmed by the latest Panorama of cancers published by the National Cancer Institute according to which: “Between 1990 and 2023, the number of new cases of cancer doubled, with an increase of 98% in cancers in men and 104% in women, all locations combined. This increase is mainly linked to demographic changes (in size and structure) and secondarily to an increase in the risk of cancer.“.

Despite these figures, some professionals admit to supporting more young patients. Questioned last July on the subject, Doctor Hanene Boudabous, oncologist within the Ambroise Paré Hartmann Private Hospital Group and at the Rafael Institute: “CBreast cancers in women under 40 are on the rise, in particular because of better known family history than before and certain environmental factors such as endocrine disruptors, but also smoking and stress. During the consultation, I was unfortunately able to notice a rejuvenation of the patients… Individual screening must absolutely be emphasized, particularly among women with a family history of breast cancer. The earlier the diagnosis, the more it allows us to save time and have a good chance of recovery.“.

Another little-known risk factor for breast cancer: alcohol. Only one in five European women knows that alcohol is a risk factor for breast cancer, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).