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.
The province is expected to make an announcement about the initiative on Tuesday.
