Manitoba is making a major change in an effort to fight rising breast cancer rates among young women.
Health minister Uzoma Asagwara told Global Winnipeg that the age for mammogram screenings will be lowered to 45 by the end of next year.
Currently, women under 50 are only able to get mammograms with a doctor’s referral.
Asagwara said the government wants to make sure the change is done “the right way,” via a phased-in approach that will eventually see the age dropped even further to 40.
“We all want this to happen faster, but we need to make sure we do it in a methodical way — so that we have the capacity that’s needed to make sure everyone can get the right care where and when they need it.
“We don’t (want to) move too quickly and then disadvantage women from being able to get those appointments.
“We also intend to make sure that women who are currently eligible have access to screening have the info and education to get screening done in a timely manner.”
The minister said planning to implement the change is already underway, including training more health care workers in mammography
“We’re doing the work right now of making sure we’re going to be training more folks in mammography, so that we have the staff available to deliver that care,” Asagwara said.
In a statement Tuesday, the province said CancerCare Manitoba has been working toward increasing screening appointments for patients between 50-74 years old and will add additional screening clinics as targets and staffing requirements are met. The goal, after expansion is fully complete, would be to double the capacity of Manitoba’s breast screening program, to 80,000 mammograms each year.
“With this change, CancerCare Manitoba’s breast screening program will be providing more mammograms closer to home and with care to providing culturally sensitive and appropriate services,” said CancerCare CEO Sri Navaratnam.
“Our priority will be increasing access for people who are typically underserved by the health-care system, and we are grateful for the province’s support and commitment to equitable care for Manitobans.”
Winnipeg breast cancer survivor Shannon Coates told 680 CJOB that she’s disappointed the province is taking so long to implement the change, but she’s glad there is some progress.
Coates said she was told she was too young for a referral when she began pushing to get screened due to a family history of cancer, and continued to be turned down until she was finally sent for a mammogram when a doctor became concerned about symptoms — and discovered she already had stage three cancer.
She said she wonders if an earlier screening would have caught the disease and changed her traumatic experience, which included major surgery, chemotherapy and pain.
“No one should have to endure getting a double mastectomy or anything done to their breasts– that’s an amputation,” Coates told 680 CJOB. “Losing your hair, your femininity of having your hair, that’s your identity.
“There’s a lot of anger. I go back and forth, I try to give myself grace, but it is unacceptable. A mammogram is $100 … and yet I put the burden — close to $111,000, minimum — of my type of breast cancer on our health care system. Wake up.”