Article content We are in the middle of another Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and while all other provinces are modernizing their breast-screening guidelines based on current science, Quebec lags behind in adopting crucial practices that could save lives. Many Quebec women are suffering when early detection could make all the difference. Quebec is now the only jurisdiction that has not announced plans to lower the breast screening age from 50 to 40 and allow women to self-refer (without a doctor’s requisition) in their 40s.
Women are forced to wait until age 50 for routine mammograms. Thirteen per cent of breast cancers occur in women in their 40s, and these cancers tend to be more aggressive: They grow faster and potentially spread faster than cancers in older women. The government’s stalling ignores the evidence that breast cancer incidence in this age group is rising.
Research has consistently shown that screening in the 40s could lead to earlier diagnoses, improving survival and reducing the need for invasive treatments like mastectomy and chemotherapy. Quebec’s inaction also disproportionately harms women from marginalized communities. Non-white women in particular face a higher incidence of breast cancer in their 40s and early 50s.
Their stage at diagnosis is higher and this negatively affects their survival. As well, for women in Quebec without access to a family doctor, getting a requisition for a mammogram is a challenge. The refusal to allow self-referral in .
