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Breast cancer starts when cells in the breast grow abnormally and form a tumour. Early breast cancer often causes no symptoms, which is why screening programmes exist. Most breast lumps are not cancer.
It is not one disease. Tumours differ in whether they respond to hormones and whether they make extra HER2 protein, and that, with stage and your own wishes, shapes treatment.
It is also not only a women’s condition: 300 men in Canada are expected to be diagnosed in 2026. And not every breast cancer forms a lump. The Society notes lobular carcinoma often shows up as tissue that feels thicker or harder.
Other conditions cause the same symptoms, and pain is more often a sign of something else.
Some things cannot be changed:
Others can often be worked on, usually with support from a health care team:
Assessment starts with your health history and a clinical breast examination, then mammography and ultrasound, which tells a solid lump from a cyst. MRI is used when results are unclear. A biopsy settles the question, and the Canadian Cancer Society is direct that it is the only definite way to diagnose it. Hormone receptor and HER2 testing follow. Screening is separate, and when it starts depends where you live: some provinces begin at 40, others at 50, and Ontario has been expanding to ages 40 to 49. The Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care suggests not systematically screening women aged 40 to 49, while saying those who want it after being informed should be offered it, and calls screening a personal choice.
Treatment is planned by a team at a cancer centre and depends on your cancer and your priorities. The Society describes:
What is offered, and what you accept, is a decision for you and your team.
Incidence is rising in younger women: Statistics Canada reports increases from 1984 to 2019 in every age band under 50, and it is not clear why. Triple negative breast cancer, which has fewer targeted options, is far more common in women under 40. Screening is unsettled too: every Canadian Task Force recommendation in 2024 was conditional, resting on very low certainty evidence.
We have no breast cancer studies enrolling at the moment. For Canadian trials, the Canadian Cancer Society launched Cancer Trials Canada in November 2025, and your oncologist or cancer centre is the most direct route. Taking part in any study is voluntary, consent comes first, and you can stop at any time.
This page is written in plain language for people considering clinical research. It is general health information, not medical advice, and it does not replace a conversation with your own doctor or nurse practitioner.
It depends where you live, and national guidance and provincial programmes do not line up. In the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer's 2023 to 2024 review, organised programmes began at 40 in New Brunswick, the Northwest Territories and Yukon, and in Alberta with a primary care referral for ages 40 to 44 with routine screening from 45, while British Columbia, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Quebec and Saskatchewan began at 50, and Ontario was expanding to include ages 40 to 49. The Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care's 2024 draft recommendation suggests not systematically screening women aged 40 to 49 while stating that those who want screening after being informed should be offered it, and it describes screening as a personal choice. The Canadian Cancer Society recommends a mammogram every two years from 40 to 74. Your own decision, and your programme's rules, are worth going through with your health care provider.
Usually not. Most breast lumps are not cancer, and the Canadian Cancer Society notes that breast pain is more often a symptom of a non-cancerous condition. The features that make a lump more concerning are that it feels firm or hard and clearly different from surrounding tissue, and that it does not get smaller or come and go with your period. Some breast cancers do not form a lump at all: lobular carcinoma often presents as tissue that feels thicker or harder. Any new change is worth assessing, and a biopsy is the only definite way to tell.
Not at the moment. This site lists the studies our own research network is currently enrolling, and breast cancer is not among them right now. If you want to look at Canadian breast cancer trials, the Canadian Cancer Society launched Cancer Trials Canada in November 2025 as a place to find and understand trial options, and your oncologist or cancer centre is the most direct route, since eligibility depends on details of your diagnosis and treatment. You can also join the JoinAStudy community and we will write to you if something opens. Joining is voluntary, costs nothing and commits you to nothing.
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