Women aged 40 years and older can now get breast cancer screening without a referral from a doctor in Ontario. In a recent interview, Dr. Mojola Omole, president of the Black Physicians’ Association of Ontario (BPAO) and a surgical oncologist with the Scarborough Health Network, says this change for Black and racialized women in particular couldn’t have come soon enough.
The BPAO has been advocating for this change for years. Back in May 2024, Dr. Omole said the onset of breast cancer is earlier for racialized women. In response to a national task force’s draft decision not to lower the recommended routine breast cancer screening age to 40, she said, “Data shows that this group have a decreased mortality than other groups with early screening. This is attributed to the genetic variation that leads to more aggressive cancers in Black women despite similar treatment. They have the most to benefit from early screening.”
Furthermore, she said, “A one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work. We have targeted treatment for different subtypes of breast cancer, why do we not use the same approach for screening?”
Listen to her thoughts about the new rule in Ontario in this interview on CBC – Here and Now Toronto with Ramraajh Sharvendiran.