Ontario to lower age for regular breast cancer screenings to 40
Ontario is lowering the age for regular, publicly funded breast cancer screenings from 50 to 40.
At a news conference Monday, Health Minister Sylvia Jones said the expansion aims to help with early detection.
“Nearly 12,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer each year, and we know early detection and increased access to care saves lives,” Jones said in a news release.
“That is why our government is taking this important step today to expand the Ontario Breast Screening Program to connect more than 305,000 additional people to the services they need to ensure timely diagnosis and access to treatment as early as possible.”
The ministry says it projects an additional 130,000 mammograms will be completed in the province each year.
The move follows a draft recommendation from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force earlier this year that said screenings in that country should start at 40 instead of 50, because evidence suggests that would have a moderate benefit in reducing deaths.
Starting in the fall of 2024, eligible women, non-binary, trans and two-spirit people between the ages of 40 and 74 can self refer for a mammogram every two years.
People can already get regular mammograms and breast MRIs between the ages of 30 and 69 if they qualify as high risk, such as those with a family history of breast cancer or people who carry certain genes known to increase the risk of breast cancer.
The ministry says that between now and next fall, sites that offer breast cancer screening will hire new staff and work with the government to develop a public reporting system so patients can see provincewide wait times.
