“The enemy is lurking in our bodies” — women veterans say toxic exposure caused breast cancer

“The enemy is lurking in our bodies” — women veterans say toxic exposure caused breast cancer

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 percent of Veterans Health Administration patients in this age group — by fiscal year 2015, according to a VA report.

Authors said the increase could come because of better screening, or it could be a “true increase in prevalence.”