Breast cancer screening should start at age 40, Canadian Cancer Society says
All provinces and territories should lower the starting age for breast cancer screening to 40, the Canadian Cancer Society said Thursday.
Some provinces already pay for mammograms starting at age 40, but the current guideline set by a national task force advises beginning breast cancer screening at age 50.
It’s critical for women across the country to have “timely access to breast screening, no matter where they live,” said Sandra Krueckl, the cancer society’s executive vice-president of mission, information and support services.
“There’s strong enough evidence from trials, from modelling studies and from real-world data to warrant that shift to 40,” said Krueckl in an interview.