The answer is as follows:
(a) Breast cancer continues to be the most frequently diagnosed cancer for women. One in nine women are expected to develop breast cancer and one in twenty-seven are expected to die of the disease. Following small but steady annual increases over three decades, breast cancer incidence among women levelled off in 1993. Mortality rates for breast cancer have declined steadily since 1986. This pattern of divergent trends is consistent with the benefits being achieved through screening programs and improved treatments.
The table below indicates the incidence and mortality* rates for breast cancer, female only, in Canada for the years 1990 to 1999.
- Age-standardized rate: The number of new cases of cancer or cancer deaths per 100,000 that would have occurred in the standard population, 1991 Canadian population, if the actual age-specific rates observed in a given population had prevailed in the standard population.
(b) Prostate cancer will continue to be the most frequently occurring cancer for Canadian men. One in eight men will develop prostate cancer during their lifetime, mostly after age 70 and one in twenty-eight will die of the disease. Beginning in 1994, incidence rates* for prostate cancer began to decline after having increased rapidly for several years. Mortality rates for prostate cancer peaked between 1991 and 1995 and have fallen since. Increases in prostate cancer incidence in the early 1990's were likely due to the rapid increase in the use of early detection techniques.
The table below indicates the incidence and mortality* rates for prostate cancer in Canadian men for the years 1990 to 1999.
- Age-standardized rate: The number of new cases of cancer or cancer deaths per 100,000 that would have occurred in the standard population, 1991 Canadian population, if the actual age-specific rates observed in a given population had prevailed in the standard population.
(c) The table below describes the Federal contributions towards breast cancer research. Partners include the Canadian Institutes for Health Research, CIHR, and Health Canada, HC.
(d) Federal tax dollars contributed towards prostate cancer research is as follows:
(e) Mammograms are paid for by publicly funded health care insurance in all provinces and territories when used as a tool in the early detection of breast cancer.
(f) Currently, Saskatchewan is the only province in which prostate specific antigen, PSA, tests are paid for by publicly funded health care insurance when used for screening asymptomatic men. However, prostate specific antigen tests are paid for by publicly funded health care insurance in all provinces and territories when used for diagnostic and monitoring purposes.
Due to a lack of evidence that PSA screening reduces death from prostate cancer, it is not a proven tool in the early detection of prostate cancer. The Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care recommends against the use of PSA test for routine screening purposes.