Ontario Connecting One Million More Women to Life-Saving Breast Cancer Screening
Lowering the age of self-referral to mammograms to 40 connecting more women to life-saving screening sooner
TORONTO — Starting today, women over the age of 40 can self-refer for publicly funded mammograms through the Ontario Breast Screening Program (OBSP). This historic expansion will give an additional one million women the option to connect to important screening services to detect and treat breast cancer sooner.
To support this historic expansion of publicly funded mammograms, the province has invested nearly $20 million to increase the ability of participating OBSP partners to connect more women to screening by adding more site hours, appointment spots and training additional staff.
Of the one million women between ages 40-49 that are now eligible for mammograms, it is estimated that an additional 305,000 will self refer for screening. That’s why, during Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the province is encouraging all eligible women to have conversations with a health care provider or call Health811 to have a conversation about their risk of cancer and the potential benefits of breast cancer screening to determine if screening is right for them.
As part of Your Health: A Plan for Connected and Convenient Care, the Ontario government is connecting more people to the services they need, when they need them. This includes ensuring communities have the tools they need to diagnose and treat illnesses earlier and keep people healthier.
Learn more: Ontario Connecting One Million More Women to Life-Saving Breast Cancer Screening | Ontario Newsroom