Breast Screening Now Starts at 40 in Ontario

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and this year there is something genuinely practical to say about it. Ontario lowered the age at which you can book your own screening mammogram, and most people in the newly eligible group still do not know they can simply pick up the phone.

What changed

Since 8 October 2024, people in Ontario aged 40 to 74 can refer themselves directly to the Ontario Breast Screening Program. Screening used to begin at 50 for self-referral; the starting age is now 40.

The programme covers women, and also Two-Spirit, trans and non-binary people, in that age range. Screening is publicly funded. You do not need a doctor or nurse practitioner to refer you, and you can book at any of the programme's locations across the province.

Who can self-refer

Self-referral applies if you are 40 or older and all of the following are true:

• You have not had a mammogram in the past year
• You have never been diagnosed with breast cancer
• You have no current symptoms of a breast problem
• You do not have breast implants

When to see a doctor instead

Those four conditions are the important part of this page, because each one is a reason to be assessed rather than screened. Screening is for people without symptoms. If something has changed, that is a different pathway and a faster one.

Book a visit — or walk in — if you notice a lump or thickening, a change in the size or shape of a breast, skin dimpling or puckering, a nipple that has newly turned inward, discharge, or persistent pain in one area. None of these mean cancer, and most turn out to be something else entirely. They do all mean you should be examined rather than waiting for a screening appointment.

You should also talk to a doctor rather than self-refer if you have a strong family history of breast or ovarian cancer, or a known genetic risk. Ontario runs a separate high-risk screening pathway, and getting into it requires a clinical assessment.

Where this fits with your care here

Albion Health has both male and female family doctors, and women's health is one of our core services. We can examine a symptom you are worried about, arrange the right imaging, explain a result you have received, and refer onward where that is needed.

If you do not currently have a family doctor, we are accepting new patients — and continuity matters for exactly this kind of care, where the useful question is often "is this different from last year?"

How to book a screening mammogram

If you meet the self-referral criteria, you can contact an Ontario Breast Screening Program site directly to book. Ontario Health publishes locations and current wait times, and there is a provincial information line on 1-800-668-9304.

If you are unsure whether you qualify, or whether screening or an assessment is the right route for you, that is a reasonable thing to ask us about.