Cancer screening programs are designed to detect cancer in healthy people who may be at risk for the disease but are not currently showing symptoms. A screening test is not a diagnostic test. The purpose of screening is to prevent cancer by identifying pre-cancerous changes or to find cancer at an early stage, when it is easier to treat.
There is strong evidence that organized screening for colorectal, breast and cervical cancers can reduce mortality. Ontario operates organized, population-based screening programs for these three types of cancer. Cancer Care Ontario is the agency responsible for collecting breast, cervical and colorectal screening data provincially.
This HealthSTATS section has screening data for the following: