Cancer Screening Information for Healthcare Providers

Important Documents

BreastCheck, CervixCheck and ColonCheck are the population-based screening programs operated by CancerCare Manitoba. Our goal is to reduce the rates of incidence and mortality from breast, cervical and colon cancers by screening eligible Manitobans at intervals that maximize the benefit and minimize the potential harms of each screening test. To read more about us, click here.

BreastCheck Documents

BreastCheck Forms

BreastCheck Appointment Form (pdf) - Last revised July 2020

National Documents

CervixCheck Documents

CervixCheck Forms

Education & Training

HPV Triage Resources (effective March 14, 2022)

National Documents

ColonCheck Forms

Fecal Immunochemical Test (FIT) Instructions (one sample)

Fecal Occult Blood Test (FOBT) Instructions (six sample)

English | French | Chinese | Filipino | German | Punjabi | Vietnamese (pdf)

Colonoscopy

English  |  French  (pdf)

Bowel Prep

English |  French  (pdf)

ColonCheck Documents

National Documents

News

Pulse Check: Changes to colorectal cancer screening

Join ColonCheck Medical Lead, Dr. Ross Stimpson, General Surgeon, Dr. Ali Khan, and CancerCare Manitoba Screening Program Manager, Laura Coulter to learn more about how the changes to colorectal cancer screening are impacting primary care. There will be an opportunity to ask your questions.

Tuesday, December 5, 2023

12:00 - 1:00pm

Registration is required.

Click here to learn more and register.

The Test
  • The fecal immunochemical test (FIT) has replaced the guaiac fecal occult blood test (gFOBT) for colorectal cancer screening in Manitoba. 
 
Results
  • FIT results will be communicated to healthcare providers by Cadham Provincial Laboratory.
  • FIT results will be communicated to patients by ColonCheck.
 
Follow-Up
  • Management of all follow-up testing will be done by ColonCheck.
  • ColonCheck will provide a pre-colonoscopy health assessment, and make direct referrals to colonoscopy for patients who have an abnormal FIT result.
  • Communication with the patient's healthcare provider will occur throughout this process.
 
Moving Forward
  • The gFOBT has been removed from the Shared Health Body Fluid Requisition and Biochemistry Hematology Requisition forms. Patients will be able to return gFOBT cards that were previously issued to Shared Health Labs until September 29, 2023, after which time they will be rejected.
  • Dynacare will continue to accept gFOBT requests until September 29, 2023 and patients will be able to return gFOBT cards that were previously issued. After September 29th, all gFOBT requests will be rejected and an appropriate comment provided to get FIT. Going forward, gFOBT will be removed from new Dynacare Manitoba requisitions.
  • Planning is underway to send FIT results electronically to eChart and EMRs in winter 2023/24.
 
How the Changes Benefit Patients
  • Earlier detection of colorectal cancer, reducing mortality from the disease.
  • Equitable access to colorectal cancer screening through a province-wide distribution strategy.
  • Access to a more sensitive screening test.
  • Easier to use test will increase patient compliance and participation in screening.
 
Supporting Resources:

We invite you to sign up for our e-news here. 

Background Information:

Shared Health Diagnostic Services, Dynacare and CancerCare Manitoba are introducing HPV reflex testing to Manitoba. The new process is called HPV reflex testing (also known as HPV triage). HPV reflex testing is used to detect high-risk human papillomavirus (hrHPV) on certain Pap tests to determine which patients require colposcopy versus those who can return to routine screening.  

Clinical Practice Change:

Effective March 14, 2022 cervical cytology labs in Manitoba will automatically perform high-risk human papillomavirus testing on the Pap test specimens of patients:

  • 30 years of age and older with Atypical Squamous Cells of Undetermined Significance (ASCUS) Pap test results, or
  • 50 years of age and older with Low-Grade Squamous Intraepithelial Lesion (LSIL) Pap test results.

Providers will receive one cervical cancer screening lab report with both the cytological interpretation and the
high-risk HPV test result.

  • Patients with hrHPV POSITIVE test results should be referred to colposcopy.
  • Patients with hrHPV NEGATIVE test results should return to routine screening with Pap tests.
  • Patients with hrHPV INVALID test results should have a repeat Pap test in six months.

Clinical Practice Change (pdf) 

As of January 2021, BreastCheck will include the mammogram result, breast density category using BI-RADS, and breast cancer risk reduction information in result letters to patients and their healthcare providers.

Review BreastCheck Results: Patient Discussion Guide (pdf), Talking To Your Patients About Breast Density and Breast Cancer Risk (webinar)

CancerCare Manitoba Prevention & Screening is recruiting interested, enthusiastic health promotion champions in primary care to participate on an advisory committee. The purpose of the committee is to facilitate ongoing reciprocal communication between healthcare providers and CancerCare Manitoba Prevention & Screening in order to generate feedback and input into projects, resources and activities. To learn more, click here.

Program Operations

BreastCheck, CervixCheck, and ColonCheck operate population-based registries which allow us to:

  • identify individuals eligible for cancer screening,
  • send letters of invite, recall, reminder and result notification,
  • monitor data, and
  • evaluate program operations.

Invitation strategies used include:

  • direct mail,
  • collaborating with healthcare providers, and
  • health promotion activities.

Each program sends a variety of letter types on a pre-determined timeline.

TYPE DESCRIPTION BREAST CERVIX COLON
NOTIFY Advise eligible individual that they will receive a test unless they contact the screening program     checkmark
INVITE Encourage eligible individual to participate in screening for the first time checkmark checkmark checkmark
RECALL Invite an eligible individual to participate in screening at the recommended interval checkmark checkmark checkmark
REMIND Sent after the initial invite to the eligible individual as a reminder to do the test checkmark checkmark checkmark
RESULT* Inform an individual of their screening test result. checkmark checkmark checkmark

*CervixCheck will send a result letter to a patient if they have a high-grade abnormal result or if the patient does not have appropriate follow-up listed in the CervixCheck registry.

For more information on each program's correspondence pathway, click below:

BreastCheck (pdf) | CervixCheck (pdf) | ColonCheck (pdf)

 

The CancerCare Manitoba Screening Programs have a team of Health Educators that plan, implement, and evaluate various education and health promotion activities for the public and providers on breast, cervical and colon cancer screening. Click below to:

Reports

BreastCheck

Program Reports (pdf)

Participation Rates by Community (pdf)

2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012

Participation Rates by RHA (pdf)

Northern Burntwood 2014 | 2013 | 2012
Northern Norman 2014 | 2013 | 2012
Southern Central 2014 | 2013 | 2012
Southern South Eastman 2014 | 2013 | 2012
Interlake-Eastern Interlake 2014 | 2013 | 2012
Interlake-Eastern North Eastman 2014 | 2013 | 2012
Prairie Mountain Assiniboine 2014 | 2013 | 2012
Prairie Mountain Parkland 2014 | 2013 | 2012

Winnipeg 2014 | 2013 | 2012
Brandon 2014 | 2013 | 2012

CervixCheck

Program Reports (pdf)

Participation Rates by Community (pdf)

Participation Rates by RHA (pdf)

ColonCheck

Program Reports (pdf)

Canadian Reports (pdf)

Breast Cancer Screening

Cervical Cancer Screening

Colon Cancer Screening

Contact

CancerCare Manitoba
Screening Programs
#5-25 Sherbrook Street
Winnipeg, MB, R3C 2B1
Screening@cancercare.mb.ca
1-855-95-CHECK

BreastCheck

BreastCheck@cancercare.mb.ca

F: 204-788-1594

CervixCheck

CervixCheck@cancercare.mb.ca

F: 204-779-5748

ColonCheck

ColonCheck@cancercare.mb.ca

F: 204-774-0341