New research is a step closer to individual assessments of cancer risk that can help younger people get life-saving scans or screenings. shironosov/Getty Images A new study on more than 100 risk factors for cancer sheds light on why some people get a diagnosis earlier. Researchers say it could help us develop customized action plans to prevent and diagnose cancer sooner. Helpful habits to stave off cancer include eating more fatty fish and drinking coffee or tea. Cancer screening can feel like a rite of passage as we get older: skin cancer checks in your late 30s, a mammogram at age 40, a colonoscopy at age 45. However, as young cancer cases have skyrocketed, the previous screening guidelines are becoming increasingly too late for patients who develop symptoms in their 20s or early 30s. A more nuanced approach could help calculate each person's unique risk of cancer and find the best ways to prevent it or detect it early enough for treatment, a new study suggests. The lead author of the study, Dr.…