The government is connecting more women to breast cancer screening by lowering the eligibility age of self-referral for publicly funded mammograms through the Ontario Breast Screening Program from 50 to 40 beginning in fall 2024.
This historic expansion will help more than 305,000 people connect to important screening services to detect and treat breast cancer sooner. It is estimated that this will add an additional 130,000 mammograms that can be completed per year.
By lowering the age of self-referral for mammograms, eligible Ontarians aged 40-49 who don’t have a primary care provider will be able to connect to screening more easily by self-referring through any OBSP site. It also encourages more women to have conversations with their health care provider about their risk factors and benefits of screening to determine if it is right for them.
News Releases;
EN: https://news.ontario.ca/en/release/1003714/ontario-connecting-more-women-to-breast-cancer-screening-earlier
FR: https://news.ontario.ca/fr/release/1003714/lontario-permet-a-un-plus-grand-nombre-de-femmes-de-beneficier-dun-depistage-precoce-du-cancer-du-sein