FAQs

Answers to common questions about cancer screening programs, services, and resources.

It depends on your age, gender, and health history. The Ontario screening programs recommend the following:

  • Breast cancer: Women aged 50-74 should get a mammogram every two years through the Ontario Breast Screening Program (OBSP).
  • Cervical cancer: Women aged 25-69 who have ever been sexually active should have a Pap test every three years through the Ontario Cervical Screening Program (OCSP).
  • Colon cancer: Adults aged 50-74 should take the Fecal Immunochemical Test (FIT) every two years through ColonCancerCheck (CCC). Those with a family history of colon cancer may need a colonoscopy.
  • Lung cancer: Individuals who are between the ages of 55 and 74 can self-refer to the Ontario Lung Screening Program if they have smoked 20-pack years and meet the eligibility criteria. Once accepted to the program, a yearly low-dose CT scan is done to screen for lung cancer.

Speak to your healthcare provider about which screening is right for you based on your risk factors.

Screening can find signs of cancer early, when it is easier to treat.

Ontario Breast Screening Program (OBSP)
For Ontario residents, ages 40-74
Every 2 years

Ontario Cervical Screening Program (OCSP)
For Ontario residents, ages 25-69
* Frequency of screening and when to stop screening should be discussed with a health care provider

ColonCancerCheck (FIT at-home screening test)
For Ontario residents, ages 50-74
Every 2 years

Ontario Lung Screening Program (OLSP)

For Ontario residents, ages 55-74 who are assessed as high-risk

Every year for those enrolled in the program

Ontario Breast Screening

If you are age 40 to 49, the Ontario Breast Screening Program encourages you to talk with your family doctor, your nurse practitioner or a Health811 navigator to make an informed decision about whether breast cancer screening is right for you. Most people in your age group who decide to get screened for breast cancer should get screened with mammography every 2 years.

If you are age 50 to 74, the Ontario Breast Screening Program recommends that most people in your age group get screened every 2 years with mammography.

If you are age 30 to 69 and meet any of the following requirements, talk to your doctor or nurse practitioner about referral to the High Risk Ontario Breast Screening Program:

  • They have a genetic mutation that puts them at high risk for breast cancer.
  • They have refused genetic testing, but  have a parent, sibling or child with a genetic mutation that puts them at high risk for breast cancer.
  • Their family history indicates a lifetime risk of breast cancer of 25 percent or more, confirmed through genetic assessment.
  • They received radiation therapy to the chest before age 30 as treatment for another cancer or condition.

A mammogram takes an X-ray picture of the breast and can find changes, even when they are too small for you or your healthcare provider to feel or see.

Regular breast cancer screening can find cancer when it is small and easier to treat.

It is recommended that people eligible for the OBSP should have a mammogram every two years as part of their routine medical care. People with a family history of breast or those with breast density may be encouraged to have yearly mammograms.

  • Wear a two-piece outfit. You will be asked to remove your top.
  • Do not use deodorants, antiperspirants, body lotions, or talcum powders. Metals in these products can show up on the X-ray picture.
  • To watch a video on how to prepare for your mammogram click here

To find an OBSP location near you and their contact information, click here.

  • Sometimes more views are needed following a routine mammogram to check on a specific area. Other tests such as a ultrasound may be recommended to take a closer look.
  • Most women needing more tests do not have breast cancer
  • Your healthcare provider or the breast screening site will book these tests for you.

Visit MyCancerIQ.ca. This free online tool to help you assess your risk and help reduce it.

The Ontario Breast Screening Program offers breast cancer screening to Two-Spirit people, trans people and nonbinary people ages 40 to 74. Those who are transfeminine, who have used feminizing hormones for at least 5 years in a row, are eligible for OBSP. For more information, click here.

Cervical Screening

Cervical cancer is cancer of the cervix, which is located at the opening of the uterus. Cervical cancer is almost entirely preventable with routine cervical screening.

  • Cervical screening checks for types of human papillomavirus (HPV) that can cause cervical cancer. It also checks for cell changes in the cervix caused by these types of HPV.
  • The test does not check for types of HPV that do not cause cervical cancer.
  • The cervical screening test feels like getting a Pap test. A doctor, nurse practitioner or midwife will use a small, soft brush to take cells from the cervix so the lab can test for cancer-causing types of HPV and cell changes.

People are eligible for cervical screening if they: Are a woman, Two-Spirit person, transmasculine person or nonbinary person with a cervix, and:

  • Are at least 25 years old, and
  • Have ever had sexual contact with another person, and
  • Do not have symptoms, like different bleeding or discharge (clear or yellow fluid) from the vagina (genital opening)

People should still get screened if they:

  • Have had the HPV vaccine
  • Feel healthy
  • Have been through menopause
  • Have not had any family members with cervical cancer
  • Have had sexual contact with only one person
  • Have had the same sexual partner for a long time
  • Have not had sexual contact in a long time
  • Are in a same-sex relationship

Most eligible people should get screened every 5 years. Some eligible people may need to get screened more often based on their medical or screening history.

Most people can stop cervical screening from ages 65 to 69. Some people may get cervical screening tests after age 69 based on their medical history or screening test result history.

Most cervical cancers are caused by a common virus called HPV (human papillomavirus) which is easily spread through sexual contact, including intimate touching, oral, vaginal and anal sex. Three out of four sexually active people will get HPV at some point in their lives – often without knowing it. This doesn’t mean they will develop cervical cancer, but it’s important to get cervical screening.

Routine cancer screening can find abnormal cells before they turn into cancer. A referral to colposcopy may be recommended. The Gardasil vaccine helps protect individuals ages 9 to 45 against the following diseases caused by 9 types of HPV: cervical, vaginal, and vulvar cancers in females, anal cancer, certain head and neck cancers, such as throat and back of mouth cancers and genital warts in both males and females.

  • You can get a cervical screening test be making an appointment with your health care provider.
  • You can visit the Mobile Cancer Screening Coach at a location in Hamilton Niagara Haldimand Brant Region. To find a location, click here.

The person who did your cervical screening test will get a copy of the test results from the lab. Ontario Health will also mail you a letter with your test results.

Yes, anyone with a cervix, who has ever had any sexual contact and is over the age of 25, needs cervical screening.

Colorectal Screening

ColonCancerCheck is a province-wide screening program for Ontario residents  to help raise screening rates and reduce deaths from colon cancer.

The ColonCancerCheck program has two arms for colon cancer screening: Average Risk for the general population, ages 50 to 74, and Increased Risk for Ontario residents with a family history. For more information on the Average Risk and Increased Risk programs click here.

Ontario residents ages 50 to 74 with no symptoms or first-degree family history (parent, sibling or child with colon cancer) are encouraged to take the fecal immunochemical test (FIT) every 2 years.

Ask your healthcare provider about this free, easy at-home test that screens for colon cancer.

Anyone who doesn’t have a healthcare provider can visit the Mobile Cancer Screening Coach or all Telehealth Ontario’s colon cancer screening line at 1-866-828-9213.

Individuals with one or more first-degree relatives (parent, sibling, or child) diagnosed with colon cancer are considered at increased risk.

If you have a family history of colon cancer, speak to your healthcare provider about scheduling a colonoscopy for screening.

To learn about your personal risk of developing colon cancer you can use an online tool called My CancerIQ.

While colon cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in Ontario, it’s highly treatable when caught early. In fact, when caught early, nine out of every 10 people with colon cancer can be cured. In its later stages, colon cancer is more difficult to treat.

Ontario men and women ages 50 to 74 with no symptoms or family history are encouraged to take the fecal immunochemical test (FIT) every 2 years.

People are considered at increased risk if a close family member  (parent, sibling or child) has been diagnosed with colon cancer. Screening should begin at age 50, or 10 years earlier than the age their relative was diagnosed — whichever comes  first. People at increased risk should speak to their healthcare provider about a colonoscopy.

The FIT is a simple, at-home screening test that checks for hidden blood in your stool, which can be an early sign of colon cancer. It’s free and available through your healthcare provider.

Everyone aged 50 to 74 with no symptoms or family history of colon cancer are encouraged to take the FIT test every two years.

You can obtain a FIT kit by visiting the Mobile Cancer Screening Coach or calling Telehealth Ontario’s colon cancer screening line at 1-866-828-9213.

FIT kits are available through family doctors or nurse practitioners. Anyone without a healthcare provider can call Telehealth Ontario’s colon cancer screening line at 1-866-828-9213 or the Mobile Cancer Screening Coach at 1-855-338-3131.

LifeLabs will mail eligible people a FIT kit following a request from their provider. The completed test can be mailed back to the lab or dropped off at a LifeLabs Patient Service Centre. For LifeLabs locations, visit locations.lifelabs.com.

If the test comes back positive, the next step is a colonoscopy for a closer look.

For instructions on how to complete a FIT kit, click here.

Every test in medicine has limitations and screening tests are no exception. The at-home screening test increases the chances of detecting colon cancer early but does not catch everyone. This is called a false negative test. Even a colonoscopy is not 100% accurate. Trying to do a colonoscopy on everyone as a screening test is simply not possible so Cancer Care Ontario recommends patients use the at-home test every two years starting at age 50 unless they have a family history of colon cancer (parent, sibling or child with colon cancer) or other high risk factors. You are welcome to direct message the Regional Cancer Screening Program with additional questions.

Cancer Care Ontario will mail you a letter with your test result. Your family doctor or nurse practitioner will also get a copy of your test result from LifeLabs.

If your test result is abnormal, it does not necessarily mean that you have colorectal cancer or polyps that could become cancer, but it does mean that additional testing is needed. ColonCancerCheck recommends that people with an abnormal result have a colonoscopy within 8 weeks. For more information on abnormal test results and colonoscopy click here.

Mobile Cancer Screening Coach

The Mobile Cancer Screening Coach offers breast, cervical and colorectal cancer screening programs to anyone who may experience barriers to access. The Mobile Coach visits locations across the Hamilton Niagara Haldimand Brant Region and brings cancer screening close to home. Anyone who is eligible for the screening programs can visit the Mobile Coach.

The Mobile Coach provides:

  • Mammograms for breast cancer
  • Cervical screening for cervical cancer
  • At-home FIT kits for colorectal cancer and information about family history colonoscopies
  • Smoking cessation support and nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) and information about lung screening

People can either walk-in or book an appointment. To book, please call: 1-855-338-3131 or 905-975-4467. Booked appointments will be prioritized and walk-ins will be done based on a first come, first served basis.

You’ll be welcomed by a receptionist who will ask for your health card. You will then meet with a registered nurse from the Regional Cancer Program who will complete your cancer risk assessment to determine which cancer screening tests are needed and provide the tests. It’s your decision whether to have screening done. Following your appointment you will receive normal results in a mailed letter. If additional testing is needed, the nurse navigator or mammogram technologist will reach out to you with more information.

You will receive your results in the mail if no follow-up testing is needed. If you need a follow-up appointment, a healthcare professional called a nurse navigator will call you to make an appointment. You healthcare provider (ie family doctor, nurse practitioner) will also receive a letter informing them of your results and you may followup with them if needed.

Yes. The Coach has translation services and can offer translation in any language needed.

You must have a valid Ontario health card to get cancer screening on the Coach or Interim Federal Health Benefits documentation for breast screening and smoking cessation support.

Yes. Coach staff have received appropriate training and work to provide patients with culturally sensitive care. You can visit the Coach at any of our locations. The Coach also makes regular stops at Six Nations of the Grand River and Mississauga of the Credit First Nation. An Indigenous Patient Navigator will help you if any follow-up tests are needed. To learn more about the Indigenous Patient Navigator, click here.

Yes, we offer a non-judgmental and friendly environment to everyone who needs screening.