Ontario lowers ages for covered colon cancer screening

A composite image of Dr. Kyle Fortinsky of Royal Victoria Health Centre and animated visuals of the inside of the human body.

As of July 1, the Ontario government is lowering the age for publicly funded colorectal cancer screening age from 50 to 45 and for those at increased risk, the age will be reduced to 40.

Ontario residents between 45 and 49-years-old will receive letters from the ColonCancerCheck program starting July 1, with information on how to sign up for an initial colorectal cancer screening test.

In the case of abnormal test results, the patient’s doctor, nurse practitioner or Ontario Health will contact them to provide support and schedule a follow-up colonoscopy.

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Residents who have a parent, sibling or child diagnosed with colorectal cancer before the age of 60, otherwise known as those who have a ‘first degree relative’ are considered to be at increased risk by the province.

For those in that category, they can get a covered screening at the age of 40 or 10 years earlier than the age their family member was diagnosed.

“We are seeing, unfortunately, more cases in younger patients,” says Physician Lead Dr. Kyle Fortinsky at Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre.

Fortinsky tells CTV News that colorectal cancer is among the most preventable cancers, however the most common cause, he says, is people not getting screened.

He adds many people avoid getting screened due to the “invasive” nature of colonoscopies as a procedure.

“For a lot of people it’s very uncomfortable, you have to take bowel preparation and it’s not a pleasant experience coming into the procedure,” he said.

He stresses the importance of screening anyway, but for those who have hesitations, Fortinsky suggests trying a fecal immunochemical test or FIT test at home.

The FIT test allows residents to send samples of their of their stool to be tested for microscopic levels of blood, an early warning sign of the cancer, Fortinsky says.

For more information on colorectal, breast and cervical cancer, and to see if you are eligible to have a FIT kit mailed to your home, call the Simcoe Muskoka Cancer Screening Hotline at 1-866-608-6910.