As of March 2025, Ontario has changed its cervical cancer screening to improve test accuracy and reduce frequency of screenings.

NEW Cancer Screening Guidelines used after March 2025

• Anyone with a cervix age 25 to 70 is screened every 5 years
• Cells from your cervix are collected by a doctor, nurse practitioner or midwife using a speculum and a swab
• Your cervical cells are sent to a lab and tested for high risk human papillomavirus (HPV)
• If your cervical cells test positive for high risk HPV, the same cells will be examined under a microscope to check for abnormal cells that may be pre-cancerous or cancerous and it is recommended that you be screened again in 2 years.

OLD Cancer Screening Guidelines used prior to March 2025

• Anyone with a cervix age 21 to 70 is screened every 3 years
• Cells from your cervix are collected by a doctor, nurse practitioner or midwife using a speculum and a swab
• Your cervical cells are sent to the lab for a Papanicolaou test (pap test), where the sample of cells is examined under a microscope to identify abnormal cells that may be pre-cancerous or cancerous.

Why were these changes made?

• The high risk HPV test is more accurate than the pap test
• As the new high risk HPV test is more accurate, the length of time between screening was increased from 3 to 5 years.
• Age of first screening was increased to 25 to avoid over screening younger people with a low risk of cervical cancer.

Anyone with a cervix (women, transmasculine and non-binary people) ages 25 to 70, should be screened for cervical cancer every 5 years. 

You can stop regular screening at the age of 70 if you have had a negative tests in the previous 5 years.

Eligible people need to get cervical screening even if they:

• feel healthy and have no symptoms
• are no longer sexually active
• have only had 1 sexual partner
• are in a same-sex relationship
• have been through menopause
• have no family history of cervical cancer
• have received the HPV vaccine

People who have had a hysterectomy should talk to their doctor or nurse practitioner to see if they need to continue cervical screening.

Cervical cancer screening tests your cervical cells for strains of human papillomavirus (HPV) that are known to cause cervical cancer. If you test positive for a high risk strain of HPV, your cells will be examined under a microscope to look for abnormal cells that may turn into cancer. Finding and treating HPV and abnormal cells early, may prevent cervical cancer. 

Cervical cancer screening can find cervical cancer early before it spreads or you have symptoms. Early detection of cervical cancer increases your chance of survival and may mean less treatment and less time spent recovering.

• A cervical cancer screening is done by a doctor, nurse practitioner, registered nurse (RN) or midwife.
• The screening only takes a few minutes. The provider will open a patient’s vagina (genital opening) using a medical tool called a speculum to see their cervix. The provider will use a soft brush to take cells from the surface of the patient’s cervix so the lab can test the cells. Some people may find it uncomfortable or embarrassing but it is important that any high risk HPV infections and cell changes are found and, if necessary, treated before they can cause cervical cancer.

Following your screening, your healthcare provider will contact you with your results and let you know your next steps. 

South Georgian Bay residents with a family doctor or nurse practitioner

• Please contact your family doctor or nurse practitioner to book an appointment for a cervical cancer screening.

South Georgian Bay residents who do not have access to a local family doctor or nurse practitioner

• Click here to book an appointment at our a cervical cancer screening clinic for residents who do not have a local family doctor or nurse practitioner. If booking is closed, please follow us on Facebook, or subscribe to our newsletter at the bottom of this page to get updates about our next clinic.

All women, trans and nonbinary people should discuss breast cancer screening with their health care provider to determine their risk of developing breast cancer and the appropriate screening schedule for their risk factors.

High risk individuals 

Women, trans and nonbinary people ages 30 to 69 who are determined to be high risk for breast cancer by their health care provider should have a mammogram and breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) every year.

Average risk individuals

Women, trans and nonbinary people ages 40 to 74 who are average risk for breast cancer should have a mammogram every 2 years.

• Getting screened regularly with mammography is important because it can find cancer early when it is less likely to have spread to other parts of the body. Treatment may also have a better chance of working when breast cancer is found early.
• When breast cancer is found early, most people will survive for at least 5 years. However, if breast cancer is found later, only 3 out of 10 people will survive for at least 5 years.

• A medical radiation technologist (someone who is trained to take mammograms) will place your breast on the mammography machine.
• A plastic plate will move down slowly to press the breast and hold it in place.
• There will be some pressure for a few seconds on the breast, much like a tight blood pressure cuff. This pressure does not harm your breast tissue. The person taking the mammogram is trained to make sure the experience is as comfortable as possible and will be able to adjust the pressure if needed.
• Mammograms are taken of each breast from 2 different angles.
• The appointment usually takes about 15 minutes.

Normal screening result

• The Ontario Breast Screening Program directly notifies participants (with or without a primary care provider) of their normal results by mail. The letter will also tell participants when to get screened again.
• The screening site also sends normal screening results to a screening participant’s primary care provider.

Abnormal screening result

• Most people with abnormal mammograms do not have breast cancer. More tests are needed after an abnormal mammogram to determine whether a person has cancer.
• Additional testing may include more mammography, breast ultrasound, breast magnetic resonance imaging and/or biopsies.
• After a participant has an abnormal screening result, their screening site will notify their primary care provider and may help to schedule a timely follow-up appointment.
• A participant with an abnormal mammogram who does not have a primary care provider will be assigned to a doctor or nurse practitioner by their screening site to follow them to diagnosis. If the participant does have breast cancer, they will be referred to a specialist for further care and management.

• Women, Two-Spirit, trans, and nonbinary people ages 40 to 74 can self refer for breast cancer screening. To book an appointment at the Collingwood Breast Cancer Screening Program, call 705-444-8670 or visit the Ontario Breast Screening Program Locations website to find the screening location closest to you

Your health care provider will help you determine when you should be screened for colorectal cancer and what screening test should be used based on your age and risk factors.

It is recommended that individuals with an average risk are screened with a fecal immunochemical test every two years starting at age 50.

Colorectal cancer screening increases the chance of finding cancer early when it is more likely to be cured. When colorectal cancer is caught early, 9 out of 10 people can be cured. If you have colorectal cancer and do not get screened, you may miss the chance for early and more effective treatment.

Fecal Immunochemical Test

• A fecal immunochemical test (the recommended colorectal cancer screening test for most people, also called FIT) is a safe and painless at-home cancer screening test. FIT checks someone’s stool (poop) for tiny amounts of blood, which could be caused by colorectal cancer or some pre-cancerous polyps (abnormal growths in the colon or rectum that can turn into cancer over time).

Flexible Sigmoidoscopy

• Flexible sigmoidoscopy is a colorectal cancer screening test. During the test, a doctor uses a small, flexible tube with a tiny camera on the end to look inside the rectum and sigmoid colon (lower part of the colon). They can also take biopsies (tissue samples) or remove polyps (abnormal growths that form on the lining of the colon or rectum). You do not need sedation (medication that helps you relax or sleep) or need to change your diet for a flexible sigmoidoscopy.

Colonoscopy

• A colonoscopy is a test that allows a doctor to look at the entire colon using a long, flexible tube with a tiny camera on the end. During a colonoscopy, the doctor can also take biopsies (samples of tissue) or remove polyps that can become cancer over time (called pre-cancerous polyps).

For individuals who have a family physician

• To get your free, at-home fecal immunochemical test (FIT), talk to your family doctor or nurse practitioner. Once the FIT has been ordered for you, LifeLabs will mail a FIT package to your Ontario mailing address. For more information on how to do your FIT, see the FIT Instructions page.
• Talk to your family physician to discuss if you are eligible for a flexible sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy. If eligible, your doctor or nurse practitioner will send a referral to a specialist. 

For individuals who do NOT have a family physician

• The South Georgian Bay Ontario Health Team regularly hosts Cancer Screening Clinics for individuals who do not have a family physician or nurse practitioner. Book an appointment at this clinic to discuss testing with a family physician. Click here to learn more.