NDP pledges to improve screening access for Manitobans with high breast cancer risk | CBC News
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The NDP hopes new legislation will make it easier for those at higher risk of developing breast cancer to get screenings earlier on.
As of January, screening eligibility dropped to 45 years old from 50.
On Tuesday, Manitoba Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara introduced Bill 32, which they say will help strengthen screening by requiring the development of an increased-risk screening process.
“This bill will result in improved breast cancer screening in Manitoba,” the minister said during question period.
Should the legislation pass, Asagwara said, remote, rural, Black, Indigenous and other people of colour, as well as other groups at elevated risk, will have “equitable access” to screening.
The minister pledged in fall 2024 that the province would phase in changes to improve screening, including changing the self-referral age criteria to make screenings available for 45-year-olds by end of 2025, and eventually lowering it to 40.
Asagwara said at the time the NDP would also hire more mammography technologists to facilitate an anticipated doubling of screenings.
Information Radio – MB7:41Expanding Breast Cancer Screening Access and Addressing Tissue Density Risks
Jennie Dale, Founder and Executive Director of Dense Breasts Canada, speaks with host Marcy Markusa about Manitoba lowering the breast cancer screening age to 45 and why further policy changes are needed to protect those with dense breast tissue and high-risk groups.