Staff shortages blamed for extended mammogram wait times in Atlantic Canada

Some Canadian women are waiting more than a year for screening mammograms.

Terra Wilkins is finally getting treatment for her cancer diagnosis after a long journey discovering it.

In May 2025, she noticed a dent in her right breast and sought medical advice from the province’s virtual care app Maple.

“I don’t have a physician here in the city. I haven’t had one in four years…so I had to send images to a nurse practitioner. She said my symptoms looked very concerning, and that it would probably be about a two month wait for me to get a mammogram,” says Wilkins.

“I begged (the IWK) to be seen earlier. They said no. I asked if I could go somewhere else and have a mammogram somewhere else. They said no because I would still need one from them again.”

Wilkins says she was told by the IWK they were understaffed.

She eventually got a mammogram six months later in October, and by November, she was diagnosed with stage two, grade two invasive ductal carcinoma.

It was a process she believes shouldn’t have taken as long as it did.

“I was devastated. It’s not standard of care. It’s unacceptable in my mind. Especially someone that’s presenting with a symptom that looked concerning. It’s definitely unacceptable. I’m still upset about (it) every time I go for treatment,” she says.

According to the IWK Health Centre, the average wait time for a mammogram screening at Nova Scotia Health sites is 225 days.

At IWK health sites, the average wait time is 469 days.

In Fredericton, Green Party Leader David Coon says women are waiting an average of 165 days for a mammogram.

It’s an issue that boils down to staffing shortages.

“This is a challenge across Canada. Every province and territory are competing for the very same limited pool of talented health human resources to deliver not just screening, but also to deliver cancer care,” says Heather Mulligan, the Canadian Cancer Society’s senior manager of advocacy and strategic initiatives.

“Nova Scotia Health, as an example, is short 14 of the required medical radiologists that deliver radiation care, in cancer care. We are competing for 108 people that are certified every single year across this country.”

She notes the desire to get a mammogram is even greater in Atlantic Canada, where cancer rates are some of the highest in the country.

“We have the highest incident rates. We also have one of the oldest populations. As our population continues to age, our cancer burden will continue to grow. In Nova Scotia, particularly, this is concerning when we consider the mortality rate for breast cancer, we have one of the highest death rates,” says Mulligan.

“This type of delay does strike fear in patients in terms of what this means for them, what this means for their families, what this means for their own care.”

She encourages people to continue booking appointments despite the delays.

“Don’t let the news of any delays prevent, deter, or stall you from accessing the care that you deserve…book the appointments, but also talk to your health-care providers.”

As Wilkins starts her first round of radiation, she cautions others to advocate for their health.

“If I had known then what I know now, I wouldn’t have accepted that. I would have showed up there every day, or at least once a week, and demanded to be seen,” she says.