Saskatchewan expands breast cancer screening eligibility to 43

Women aged 43 and up are now eligible for screening mammograms. David Tran of the Saskatchewan Cancer Agency shares the details.

As of Jan. 2, 2026 women in Saskatchewan are eligible to get tested for breast cancer as early as 43 years old.

Prior to the change, women were eligible for breast cancer screenings, or mammograms, at the age of 50 and older at the beginning of 2025, which opened up to women as young as 45 years old later in the year.

Lisa Vick, a breast cancer survivor from Weyburn, had to wait two months until she received a mammogram after she found a lump in her breast in the fall of 2023.

“I had to request a mammogram because I didn’t meet the age requirement at that time, as I was only 48 and the self-referral age in Saskatchewan at the time was 50,” she explained.

“I had to go through the referral process, see my doctor, get a referral, and go through the whole process that way.”

Vick said if she was eligible at an earlier age, she could have started the treatment process sooner.

“I found the lump in October of 2023. I had my mammogram in December of 2023 and then started surgeries and treatments in January 2024,” she said.

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With the age eligibility for breast cancer screenings in Saskatchewan now opening up to women as young as 43 years old, Vick said she encourages women to take advantage of early testing.

“It doesn’t hurt. It’s not a painful process. It’s quick and it’s easy and just do it for your peace of mind or to get that early detection,” she explained. “Early detection reduces the cost, reduces the treatments, and just overall easier to go through the process knowing sooner than later.”

With breast cancer being the most common diagnosis among Canadian women, the Saskatchewan Cancer Agency (SCA) said lowering the age for women to receive mammograms is part of a broader initiative in the province.

“We’re doing it in a phased approach. We started with 50 years of age and then slowly went down to 47, 45, 43, and then by July of 2026, it will be down to 40 years of age,” said David Tran, SCA’s director of population health.

Tran said the decision to drop the age of eligibility was to provide support for women and reduce the severity of potential cancer cases.

“It was very evidence based, the literature and evidence out there indicated that by lowering the screening age will be able to detect breast cancer earlier in women,” he said.

“With that too is improving health outcomes in the province.”

However, Saskatchewan is hardly the first to the punch in this regard. As of January, seven provinces have dropped screening eligibility to 40 years old.

With the change now in effect, one national advocacy group said it is headed in the right direction.

“The earlier you find it, the less chance you have of needing chemotherapy, of needing a mastectomy, of getting lymphedema, you have a better chance of survival,” said Jennie Dale, the founder and executive director of Dense Breasts Canada. “Survival rates at stage one breast cancer at five years are about 100 per cent, but if you are diagnosed with stage four, those rates drop to 30 per cent.”

“You can see the difference. It’s critical,” she added.

Women 43 and older can book a mammography appointment by contacting the province’s screening programs, which can be found on the SCA’s website.

There are a total of eight screening centres across the province. They include Regina, Saskatoon, Lloydminster, Moose Jaw, North Battleford, Prince Albert, Swift Current and Yorkton.

Additionally, a mobile mammography bus travels throughout rural and northern Saskatchewan.