2024-05-09 23:22:11
Some provinces already offer free mammography from age 40, but current guidelines established by a Canadian task force recommend starting screening at age 50.
This is what Quebec is doing – just like New Brunswick and Ontario, but these two provinces have committed to lowering the minimum age for voluntary screening this year to 40.
Sandra Krueckl, Senior Vice-President, Mission, Information and Support Services at the Canadian Cancer Society, says it is important that women across the country have timely access to breast cancer screening, “no matter where they live.”
According to Ms. Krueckl, “is there sufficiently strong evidence from clinical trials, modeling studies and field data to justify this move to 40 years.”
About 13% of breast cancer cases in Canada occur in women ages 40 to 49, Krueckl said. Earlier diagnosis often means less invasive treatment is needed and the results are better, she stressed.
The Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care is establishing clinical guidelines to help family physicians and nurses decide if and when screening should be suggested. The group currently recommends systematic screening from the age of 50 for people with an average risk of breast cancer.
The task force is expected to revise its guidelines this spring, but it said in an email that a “detailed” review of clinical trials, international best practices and other data was still underway and did not confirm what the updated guidelines would be.
“The Canadian Task Force respects the Canadian Cancer Society and its important work,” it was written. We look forward to discussing the draft recommendations on breast cancer screening from our comprehensive review of the evidence later this spring.”
It is the provinces that pay
Although the task force recommends that screening begin at age 40, it is ultimately up to the provinces and territories to fund it, stresses the Canadian Cancer Society.
It’s also “extremely important” that frontline health care providers talk to their patients regarding breast cancer screening starting at age 40 and not waiting until they’re 50, Krueckl said.
“We also know that black women are more often diagnosed before age 50 and that their disease is more advanced,” she added in an interview.
In Canada, one in eight women is expected to be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime, according to the Canadian Cancer Society.
Here are the eligible ages for breast cancer screening in each province and territory, according to the Canadian Cancer Society:
- Screening programs in Quebec, Manitoba and Newfoundland and Labrador begin at age 50.
- In British Columbia, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and the Yukon, women can screen themselves for breast cancer starting at age 40.
- In Alberta and the Northwest Territories, screening is offered from age 45 onwards.
- Both Ontario and New Brunswick have committed to lowering the minimum age for voluntary testing from 50 to 40 this year.
- Saskatchewan announced it would reduce screening eligibility to age 40 as part of a “phased” approach starting in 2025.
- Nunavut does not have an organized breast cancer screening program.
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