Breast self-awareness and mammograms are important for early detection of breast cancer. Talk to a health care provider about when regular breast cancer screening should begin.

Breast Screening Guidelines

The Ontario Breast Screening Program recommends:

• Most women 50 to 74 years of age should have a mammogram every two years.
• Women between the ages of 30 and 69 who are identified by a physician as being high risk for breast cancer, should have a mammogram and breast screening Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) every year.

According to the Ontario Cervical Screening Program participating in regular cervical cancer screening with the Papanicolaou (Pap) test provides a good defense against cervical cancer.

Cervical Screening Guidelines

Cervical cancer screening is recommended every three years for all women starting at age 21 who are or ever have been sexually active.

• Women who are not sexually active by 21 years of age should delay cervical cancer screening until sexually active.
• Screening should continue until the age of 70 provided there are three normal tests in the previous ten years.
• Women who have had a hysterectomy should talk to their health care provider to see if they need to be screened

Men and women 50 years of age and older should talk to their health care providers about colorectal cancer screening. As with any cancer, it is important to tell health care providers about any family or personal history of cancer.

Colorectal Screening Guidelines

Ontario's colorectal cancer screening program, ColonCancerCheck recommends:

• Men and women aged 50 to 74 who have no family history of colorectal cancer should complete the fecal immunochemical test (FIT). Ask your health care provider today if a FIT is right for you.  

What is FIT?

FIT is a more sensitive and user-friendly screening test, which means it is better at detecting colon cancer and reduces the amount of contact people have. Plus, it is a test that can be completed at home at no cost to you.

• Men and women with a parent, sibling, or child diagnosed with colorectal cancer should have a colonoscopy beginning at age 50, or 10 years earlier than the age that their family member was diagnosed, whichever occurs first.