Kate Thomas can't be here to say it, so I will: If you're a woman who served in Iraq or Afghanistan, go get your mammogram. Tell your healthcare provider about your potential exposure to the burn pits, and ask for it.
"Numbers for breast cancer in military women have been high for years, but as veterans returned from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, rumors began to swirl: The cancers are hitting young—and they’re extraordinarily aggressive.
"From fiscal year 2000 to fiscal year 2015, Veterans Affairs saw the number of women diagnosed with breast cancer increase by five times for women ages 45 to 64—or 3% of Veterans Health Administration patients in this age group—by fiscal year 2015, according to a VA report."
Also: Black women who served in the military have a higher probability of invasive breast cancer, and they tend to wait longer for treatment. Please get yourselves checked.
"A 2014 Defense Department report to Congress found that Black service women have a significantly higher probability of invasive breast cancer than do white and Hispanic active-duty service women."
"A 2019 study published in JAMA Surgery found that, from 1998 to 2008, Black women in the military health system waited longer for surgery after being diagnosed with breast cancer than did white women."
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