People should be able to get a mammogram starting at age 40 but it shouldn’t be routinely offered to women under 50 who are of average risk, new Canadian screening guidelines suggest.

Breast imaging organizations and political bodies are criticizing updated guidelines on breast cancer screening by the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care (CTFPHC).

Several cancer experts, surgeons and radiologists swiftly condemned a national task force’s draft decision not to lower the recommended routine breast cancer screening age to 40 on Thursday.

Canadian guidelines say women should start getting mammograms at age 50 unless they have specific risk factors. The U.S. is updating their guideline to start at age 40 and some experts say Canada should do the same.

OTTAWA- November 24, 2021 – Jennifer Quaid, an Ottawa law prof who was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer just after she turned 50. She had asked for a mammogram earlier but was told she didn’t qualify. PHOTO BY JEAN LEVAC /Postmedia Article content Just days after a U.S. task force recommended breast cancer screening begin at age 40, the Ontario government says it is looking at a similar move.

Officials with Health P.E.I. say ultrasounds are not currently being used within the provincial breast screening program, and they won’t be anytime soon. In 2019, Premier Dennis King’s government promised to begin notifying all Islanders who have a mammogram of their breast density. It also promised to look into the potential of adding ultrasound screening for those with the highest breast density.