Self-referral mammograms for women in their 40s coming to N.B.

Some experts and advocates are applauding New Brunswick's decision to allow women in their 40s to refer themselves for mammograms beginning next year.

The province announced the program Friday.

Presently, women in that age group need a referral from a nurse practitioner or family physician to receive a mammogram.

"I'm over the moon… I was in tears and then I felt like doing cartwheels, I'm just overjoyed," said breast cancer survivor and advocate Kathy Kaufield. "This is fantastic news for the women in New Brunswick."

Kaufield was 47 when she was diagnosed with stage two breast cancer. She luckily received three mammograms before the province removed access to regular screening for women 49 and below.

That was a move most provinces took in 2011, after the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care no longer recommended regular screening mammograms for women in their 40s unless they had pre-existing factors that put them at higher risk of developing breast cancer.

Kaufield has been advocating for better access to mammograms for women in their 40s since January of this year. She said the program wouldn't have been possible without support from Dense Breasts Canada, an advocacy group pushing for more breast cancer screenings across the country.

"This is just going to make it a lot easier for women to get a screening mammogram, which will help find cancer early," she said.

Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia offer mammogram screening for women in their 40s. Alberta screens women 45 and older.

Dr. Anna Wilkinson, an associate professor in the faculty of medicine at the University of Ottawa and an oncologist, said research from 2011 until now shows the importance of mammogram screening for women in their 40s.

"What we found is that women who did not have access to screening programs in their 40s were diagnosed with later stage or more advanced breast cancer, and their net survival rate — or outcomes — were worse," said Wilkinson. 

That research revealed that there was a 10.3 per cent increase in women who were diagnosed with stage four cancer in their 50s.

She said women of colour have an earlier peak onset of breast cancer and tend to have their highest risk of breast cancer in their 40s.

Overall, cases of breast cancer in women 40 to 49 are rising.

Wilkinson said a study also revealed that there were higher cases of breast cancer in provinces that didn't provide early screening.

"We think what's happening is that in those screenings for women in their 40s, we're catching those pre-cancerous lesions, treating them, and then they never become breast cancer," she said.

Wilkson said she's thrilled by New Brunswick's announcement and she hopes other provinces will follow suit.  

Breast Density

Kaufield said the new program will also provide women with potentially life-saving information about their breast density.

Kaufield said the only way a woman can find out their breast density is through a radiologist looking at a mammogram.

"My mission was to give women access to this information because they just weren't getting it," said Kaufield.

Kaufield said her next goal is to have the province introduce supplemental screening for women with high breast density, through an ultrasound or MRI.

"Provinces are leaning towards doing some of that, but it's not happening yet," she said.