Sask. Cancer Agency says mammogram wait times vary across the province, and patients say options unclear
'I was never provided the option to travel anywhere else,' says woman seeking screening
The Saskatchewan Cancer Agency (SCA) says it is working to ensure women in the province have access to breast cancer screening and biopsies in a timely manner, but some patients say the system isn't working fast enough.
The province recently announced it would gradually lower the age limit for screening mammograms to 40 from 50. Anyone age 47 or above can now book a screening mammogram without a doctor's referral and the limit will drop to 45 in June. Younger people with risks like family history can also talk to their doctor about getting a referral for a screening.
The SCA says anyone eligible for a screening mammogram has the option to book at any of the province's screening facilities and wait times vary city to city.
"We have two permanent sites in Regina and Saskatoon. Then we also offer screening in Prince Albert, North Battleford, Yorkton, Lloydminster, Moose Jaw, Swift Current, as well as we have a mobile bus that travels around," Leah Palmer, manager of early detection at the SCA, told host Leisha Grebinski on CBC's Blue Sky.
The SCA said that in Regina, screening mammograms are booked into November 2025, but in Prince Albert you can get in "quite quickly," and in Moose Jaw you'll be put on a list and booked in when an appointment becomes available.
April Barry, who lives in rural Saskatchewan and can travel for breast screening, said it was never made clear to her that she could book anywhere in the province.
"I was never provided the option to travel anywhere else," she said.
Barry has a family history of breast cancer and has been getting an annual mammogram for the last 17 years. She said that for years, she would call in January and get booked for May.
Then the pandemic came and threw a wrench into the health-care system. Barry said it has been backed up ever since. She last called to book her annual mammogram in October and was told she needed to wait a whole year until October 2025.
Barry said it's "absolutely unacceptable" that someone with a family history has to wait 12 months to get screened.
Louise Fedirko, 72, lives in Regina and went for her annual mammogram in December 2024. It found a mass that needed further investigation.
She had another mammogram and an ultrasound, and was then advised to get a biopsy, which would determine if she has cancer, in January. It's been more than a month since then and she still has no idea when she can get the test.
"I might not have breast cancer. I don't know. But the torture of going for months not knowing … it's hard to describe," she said. "I wake up in the middle of the night completely soaking wet, shaking, and wondering … I just don't know."
Fedirko said she tried calling the local breast cancer assessment centre and was told the backlog is so long that there wasn't a date or a timeline for when she could get a biopsy.
Saskatchewan recently extended a program that allows people to be sent to Calgary for diagnosis for another year due to the backlog.
Fedirko said she reached out to the provincial Ministry of Health. After a few attempts, she said she was able to get through to someone who looked into her situation and told her she was not eligible to go to Calgary.
"It's a higher risk, so they don't want to send me out of province."
Fedirko said she's angry at the health-care system and the government, but she's also scared. She decided to speak up about it after talking to a breast cancer survivor.
"She told me, 'You only have one power in this, Louise – the power of your voice,'" Fedirko said.
Richard Dagenais, executive director of medical imaging with the Saskatchewan Health Authority, said efforts are underway to ensure people can get biopsies in a timely manner.
"We are endeavouring and actually meeting to provide that sort of care within two to three weeks and that's across the province," he said.
"The extension of the Calgary program for those women at that really high risk who need that by ultrasound guided biopsy for the next year really allows us to have a relief valve to make sure that we're providing timely service while we continue to build capacity in the province."
Mandy Kasper is the Saskatchewan manager for the Canadian Association of Medical Radiation Technologists. She also serves on the patient voice advisory board with the Canadian Medical Association, is a radiation therapist and survived cancer herself.
On CBC's Blue Sky, Kasper said it is "obvious" that Saskatchewan doesn't have enough staff to do screening and diagnostics.
"I think the government certainly needs to step up in their recruitment efforts in getting these people here and also their retention, because these people are getting burned out," Kasper said.
She said there's nothing worse than knowing something is wrong and having to wait for scans and procedures.
"That's what I experienced. I didn't need a mammogram, but I needed a PET scan, and we only have one in the province in Saskatoon, and it's often broken," she said. "I had to wait."
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With files from Chris Edwards and Blue Sky