Youthful detection no defense against breast cancer

While women in China are likely to be diagnosed at an earlier age than those in other countries, the incidence of the disease is still rising, Yang Wanli reports.

'It's a really nice day, isn't it? Aren't the colors beautiful?" Hong Wei said, as she lay on a bed on the seventh floor at the Peking Union Medical College Hospital and stared out the window at the sunlight reflecting off the green, teal-tiled roof of a nearby building.

The 26-year-old had a malignant tumor removed from her left breast in April 2013, but when a second growth was detected earlier this year, the physicians at the hospital's breast surgery clinic, who noted there was no history of cancer in Hong's family, suggested a gene test. The results indicated a risk of genetic mutation, so Hong opted to have a preventative double mastectomy. The surgery was performed earlier his month.