Alberta Health Services (AHS) released new guidance on Tuesday suggesting Alberta women start their biennial breast cancer screening sooner. .The recommendation from the Alberta Breast Cancer Screening Clinical Practice Guideline Committee (CPG) follows changes to clinical practice guidelines and suggests average-risk women should start their breast exams at the age of 45 rather than 50. .“Early detection and treatment give people with cancer the best chance to survive this disease," said Health Minister Jason Copping.."Alberta is leading the country by making breast cancer screening available to more women, at a younger age, saving lives in the process.” .The change would make room for an 12,000 more screening mammograms each year for women between the ages of 45 to 49. Recent statistics show more than 240 women in Alberta between the ages of 45 to 49 had a diagnosis of breast cancer in 2018. .“More evidence has become available to show net benefits of breast cancer screening at a younger age,” said CPG committee co-chair Dr. Huiming Yang..“That is why the breast cancer screening guidelines now recommend including average-risk women aged 45 to 49 into biennial screening. We hope this will help to diagnose breast cancer earlier and, in turn, help save lives.”.Committee co-Chair Dr. Lisa Stevenson said healthcare providers are now encouraged to recommend the earlier screening to average-risk women beginning at age 45. .“By being more proactive in our screening efforts, we can make a real difference in the lives of Albertans," said Stevenson. .AHS recommends women ages 45 to 74 have screening mammograms every two years, or as advised by their family doctors. ."Screening is the best way to find breast cancer early before symptoms appear and when treatment may work better," said AHS in a press release..The updated guidelines are available on the AHS website..This makes Alberta the first province in Canada to lower the screening age and expand the benefits of routine screening to more people.
