Canadian Screening Guidelines for Common and Important Conditions
Author: Dr. Bernard Ho MD
Below, you will find screening guidelines for common and important conditions. Screening refers to using tests to determine whether you have a particular condition. It does not apply when you have already been diagnosed with that condition. These guidelines also assume a healthy individual with no genetic risk factors. Please note that guidelines may be different between provinces and that the Canadian guidelines may also be different from the provincial guidelines. If there are any questions or areas of confusion, please contact your family doctor.
1) Breast Cancer
a. For women aged 40-49, the recommendation is not to be screened with mammography
b. For women aged 50-74, the recommendation is to be screened with mammography every 2-3 years
c. It is recommended not to screen with MRI
d. Clinical breast exams and breast self-examinations are not recommended to screen for breast cancer
2) Cervical Cancer
a. For women younger than 20, the recommendation is not to be screened for cervical cancer
b. For women aged 21-25, there is some evidence to support screening for cervical cancer, so please speak to your family doctor to determine whether it would be right for you
c. For women 25-69, the recommendation is to be screened for cervical cancer every 3 years only if you have ever been sexually active
d. For women 70 and older, routine screening can be stopped once you have had three consecutively negative Pap tests in the last 10 years
3) Colorectal cancer
a. For anyone age 50-74 with no first-degree relative (FDR) diagnosed with colorectal cancer at any age, begin screening at age 50 with the Fecal Immunochemical Test (FIT) every 2 years
b. For anyone with an FDR diagnosed with colorectal cancer before age 60, begin screening at age 50 or 10 years earlier than the age your relative was diagnosed, with colonoscopy every 5 years
c. For anyone with FDR diagnosed with colorectal cancer after age 60, begin screening at age 50 or 10 years earlier than the age your relative was diagnosed, with colonoscopy every 10 years
4) Diabetes
a. Screen every 3 years with an A1C blood test for individuals 40 or older, or those with risk factors
b. Screen earlier and every 12 months with an A1C blood test for individuals who are at very high risk based on a risk calculator (please speak with your family doctor about your risk factors)
c. A simplified risk calculator can be found here: https://www.healthycanadians.gc.ca/en/canrisk
5) Hypertension (high blood pressure)
a. The recommendation is to have your blood pressure checked at every visit to the family doctor
b. If you are found to have high blood pressure during a visit, the recommendation is to have it rechecked on a different day
6) Lung Cancer
a. For those between the age of 55-74 with at least a 30 pack-year smoking history who currently smoke or quit less than 15 years ago, the recommendation is to be screened for lung cancer with a CT scan once a year for up to three years
b. A pack-year is defined as the average number of cigarette packs smoked daily X the number of years smoking
7) Prostate Cancer
a. The current recommendations are not to screen for prostate cancer due to the high likelihood of a false positive test (where the test is positive, but you do not actually have the disease)
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