Canadian doctors are using ‘outdated’ guidelines to screen for cancer, experts warn – CBC

Cancer experts say current recommendations use old data, lack expert advice and are too slow to update

Apr 24, 2024

Carolyn Holland can’t help wondering how many years of her life she’s lost because her breast cancer was diagnosed late.

The Ottawa mom first discovered lumps in her breasts while in the shower. At 43 years old, she’d never had a mammogram.

After seeing her doctor, she was sent for a scan, which confirmed the cancer. But at that point it had already advanced. Holland needed two types of chemotherapy, radiation, the removal of her lymph nodes and a double mastectomy.

“This shouldn’t happen to other women. It’s preventable,” Holland said.

Holland’s doctors told her that her treatment could have been less drastic had the cancer been detected sooner. But Canada’s national guidelines do not recommend routine breast cancer screening for women under the age of 50.

“Had I been able to access screening at 40, this wouldn’t have been my outcome,” she said.

Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/cancer-screening-canada-guidelines-1.7180878