BOSTON -- In an unusual twist, some breast cancer advocates are quietly criticizing a bill that would spend $9 million per year to educate and raise awareness about the disease among women ages 20 to 40.

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla), kept her own recent battle with breast cancer private.

“I was doing a routine self exam in the shower [and] found a lump in my breast,” she said.

Diagnosed at age 41, Wasserman Schultz didn’t tell her children until earlier this month, just days before she proposed the ‘EARLY Act,’ which stands for Education and Awareness Requires Learning Young.

“It will kick off a national education and awareness campaign focused on young women because young women do think we're invincible,” she told Good Morning America’s Robin Roberts.

But the National Breast Cancer Coalition said scientists don’t know what causes breast cancer, particularly in young women. Further, advocates said doctors can’t give women specific advice on how to reduce their risk of getting breast cancer.

“What's wrong with the bill is that it's based on emotion rather than solid scientific data,” said Carol Matyka, a Boston-based NBCC advocate. “The single largest risk factor breast cancer other than gender is age.”

Wasserman Schultz’s bill also encourages breast self exams, even though recent studies have questioned their value.

Dr. Ann Partridge, a breast oncologist who specializes in treating young women at Dana Farber Cancer Institute said, “You don't, therefore, want to tell people breast self exam is the way to go because evidence suggest they do not improve how people do in the long run.”

However, Partridge added that overall, the bill’s message is a good one.

“If we raise awareness that breast cancer can and does happen in young women and get a few more women in earlier it may make a difference,” she said.

A spokesman for Wasserman Schultz told NewsCenter 5 that medical professionals will ultimately determine the message that should be delivered to young women. He added, just because there's some disagreement in the medical community, doesn't mean doctors and health experts should remain silent.