Early-onset cancers rising, survival rates too: how 2 young Hong Kong women beat cancer

Young cancer survivors in Hong Kong Angie Yan and Sandy Yeung describe how they reacted to diagnoses and treatment, and offer hope to others

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Angie Yan celebrating her 25th birthday in Hong Kong, a year after being diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma. While early-onset cancers are on the rise, survival rates for young patients are also high. Photo: Angie Yan

Published: 6:15pm, 6 Jul 2024

On March 23, 2024, Kate Middleton, the Princess of Wales, announced in a video statement that she has cancer – although she did not specify which type – and is in the early stages of preventive chemotherapy.

The news surprised many because, at 42, Middleton is considered young to have cancer.

The same month, American actress Olivia Munn revealed she received a breast cancer diagnosis in April 2023. Munn, 43, who starred in the 2012 movie Magic Mike, described the cancer as “aggressive” and “fast moving” and underwent four operations to remove the tumours, including a double mastectomy.

“[The doctors] said that if I was extremely aggressive, that I could fight this and win,” she shared in an interview.

I was shocked because I was young, physically active and led a healthy lifestyle, and had no family history of cancer

Angie Yan, cancer survivor

The diagnoses of both women add to an alarming trend of early-onset cancer – cancer cases diagnosed in people from 14 to 49 years. Globally, between 1990 and 2019, early-onset cancer cases increased by about 79 per cent overall, according to a study published in September 2023 in the journal BMJ Oncology.

There are many risk factors for cancer, the biggest of which is advancing age, with most cancers diagnosed in people aged 65 years or older. This is why young cancer patients are jolted when they learn they have the disease.