BCRF welcomed CAKES body as a partner in 2024, kicking off a collaboration focused on accelerating research and empowering young people to understand their risk for breast cancer.
In 2025, CAKES committed $400,000 to launch She’s Not Too Young: A CAKES body x BCRF Fund for Younger Women with Breast Cancer. As breast cancer rises at an alarming rate, the fund will accelerate urgently needed research and expand resources to address the unique challenges younger women face with breast cancer.
In the past decade, breast cancer among women ages 20-39 has risen at double the rate of women over 50. Despite medical advances, women diagnosed under 40 often experience worse outcomes due to later detection and more aggressive tumor biology. Younger patients also face distinct challenges, from fertility concerns and early menopause to limited long-term emotional, physical, and social support. This year, CAKES is thrilled to deepen their commitment to breast cancer research with this focus on younger
women – a core demographic of their community.
The She’s Not Too Young CAKES body Fund supports the full spectrum of BCRF’s research portfolio from prevention and risk assessment to heredity, ethnicity and genetics, treatment innovations, and survivorship support, including:
- Early Detection & Prevention: Earlier diagnoses for women under 40
- Risk Awareness & Understanding: Better tools to reduce risk, especially for women
with no familial history - Equity & Empowerment: More inclusive and culturally competent research
- Targeted Treatments: Improving outcomes and reducing side effects that affect fertility,
heart health, and quality of life - Life After Diagnosis: Addressing the long-term challenges young patients face
Now in its second year, CAKES is continuing its commitment to the She’s Not Too Young Fund with an additional commitment of $250,000 by June 2027.
