OTTAWA, ON – The federal government has temporarily halted the work of its cancer screening task force, a decision that an Ottawa-based radiologist believes will ultimately save lives.
Dr. Jean Seely, head of breast imaging at The Ottawa Hospital, has been a vocal critic of the Canadian Task Force on Preventative Health Care, particularly its recommendation that routine breast cancer screening should begin at age 50 for most average-risk women. The task force previously advised against initiating regular screenings at age 40, a stance Seely argues has put lives at risk.
Seely’s research has challenged the scientific basis of these guidelines, demonstrating that delaying screenings until age 50 leads to increased risks for women. Despite these federal guidelines, most Canadian provinces, alongside other jurisdictions, have moved toward earlier screening options. However, Seely contends that the task force’s recommendations continue to create obstacles for broader adoption of early screening practices.
This week, Seely welcomed Health Minister Mark Holland’s announcement that the task force’s work would be temporarily suspended, calling it “excellent news.”
“The outdated processes and governance of the task force have led to the loss of many Canadian lives from breast cancer,” Seely said. “This pause will save lives and reduce the harms of more treatment for late-stage diagnoses of breast cancer.”
The pause comes as an external expert review—launched last October—prepares to release its findings in the coming weeks. Holland emphasized that the review is focused on assessing the task force’s governance, mandate, and processes.
“I continue to hear concerns from Canadians and key leaders in the field about the existing guidance process of the task force,” Holland stated. As a result, he has instructed the Public Health Agency of Canada to suspend the task force’s activities until the review is complete and its recommendations can be thoroughly evaluated.
Seely has long argued that the task force’s structure has not effectively incorporated expert insights, particularly from those who understand the real-world implications of its recommendations. She insists that meaningful involvement from specialists is necessary to develop more effective screening guidelines.
Her research has also shown that provinces adhering to the task force’s previous guidelines experienced higher rates of late-stage breast cancer diagnoses, which not only endangers patients but also drives up healthcare costs. She estimates that earlier screening could prevent hundreds of deaths annually while saving the healthcare system hundreds of millions of dollars.
Other experts and patient advocates have also voiced concerns over the task force’s recommendations, calling for expanded screening for colorectal cancers, which are increasingly affecting younger patients.
604 Newshub’s view: Canada’s healthcare system has been ranked worst or second-to-last out of all developed countries in international studies based on its performance on wait times, quality of delivery, and other metrics, and it is our view that if the healthcare bureaucracy in Canada is putting people’s lives at risk in the name of cost-cutting, the work itself needs to be suspended. The task force disagrees with the suspension, but ethical behaviour favours the government’s decision.
A significant caveat is that this view is only valid if the disagreement was not based on a mis-funded system.
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