Thousands of Canadian women will die if our breast cancer screening guidelines are not revised.

In December 2018, the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care issued guidelines on breast cancer screening for women of average risk. These guidelines are used by 48,000 Canadian family physicians and 7400 Nurse Practitioners in their interactions with 8 million women aged 40-74. 

Here’s how the guidelines put women’s lives at risk:

1.  The guidelines ignore expert advice: The Task Force working group has 4 experts, but they are not able to vote on the recommendations. At this point, over 130 breast cancer experts have strongly criticized the guidelines. The 2018 guidelines were made by a chiropractor, OT, Kidney specialist, psychologist and other non subject matter members.

2.  The guidelines ignore the importance of screening for women in their 40s: 17% of breast cancers occur in women aged 40-49; breast cancer is the leading cause of death for women aged 40-55; the incidence of breast cancer increases significantly at age 40.

3.  The guidelines advise against breast self-exams: These exams are an important measure women can take to increase early detection of breast cancer, especially in women with dense breasts.

4.  The guidelines exaggerate the harms of recalling women for additional testing after a mammogram: About 10% of women are recalled for additional images and this may cause anxiety. The Task Force considers this anxiety a harm and uses it to dissuade women from screening. The anxiety is not long lasting. Better safe than sorry.

5.  The guidelines ignore significant health benefits of early cancer detection: The Task Force does not acknowledge the benefits of avoiding chemotherapy, mastectomy, and lymphedema.

6.  The guidelines use a study that was corrupted: The guideline not to screen women in their 40s is largely influenced by a study whose randomization was tampered with. It is an outlier study and the only one showing mammograms are not of benefit. It needs to be removed from future guideline development.

7. The guidelines ignore current data: Current studies show that women who have mammograms are 40-44% less likely to die of breast cancer than those who do not have mammograms. Current data also shows that women in provinces that do not screen at 40 are more likely to have advanced breast cancer. Current evidence and modelling needs to be included in guideline development.

8.  The guidelines ignore the risks of breast density: The risks of dense breasts have been known for 40 years. Dense breasts increase the risk of developing breast cancer and increase the risk that cancer will be masked on a mammogram. The guidelines ignore the benefits of supplemental screening for women with dense breasts. Women with dense breasts should not be considered average risk.

9.  Women are being asked to make decisions about life-saving screening based on inaccurate information about the risks and benefits:  Women may make decisions that may ultimately lead to a late diagnosis, unnecessary suffering and a poorer prognosis.

All Canadians should be outraged by these guidelines. Canadian women and their healthcare practitioners deserve to have accurate information about the benefits of screening.

Please sign and share this petition. Tell Health Minister Holland that the new screening guidelines for breast cancer must be updated because they are dangerous and will cause loss of life.

We appreciate the thought, but there's no need to pay change.org to promote the petition. Signing and sharing is all that is needed. For more information about the issues associated with the Task Force guidelines, please visit www.densebreastscanada.ca