Sudden, severe pain in the belly or back in an older person is an emergency, not an appointment: call 911. For health advice by phone, call 811.
What gets added in the years ahead
Each line is a test; each dot is an appointment. Scroll and your age goes up: see what starts and stops at each birthday.
FIT kitAAA scanBlood pressureCholesterolBlood sugarHIV
At 65
Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) scan, once, if never done
At 71
Stops: Blood sugar test for diabetes
At 75
Stops: Bowel cancer screening (FIT kit)
At 81
Stops: Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) scan
After 74–75 most screening is no longer recommended routinely, because its benefit takes years to arrive. Whether to continue is a decision with your doctor, based on your health and wishes.
What each test is worth
The same question for each: per 1,000 people, how many deaths from the disease does the test prevent? Some numbers come from trials (people invited, or randomly assigned to the test), others from a model that assumes people always attend; each has its own time span, written beside it. For osteoporosis the number is hip fractures, not deaths. So the tests are not ranked on one scale.
Each small square is a person; there are 10,000.
Bowel cancer screening (FIT kit)
45–49, every 2 years (Ontario only, since July 2026); 50–74, every 2 years
Invisible traces of blood in stool, a sign of polyps and bowel cancer. A positive test leads to a colonoscopy, where polyps can be removed there and then.
If a parent, brother, sister or child had bowel cancer, don't wait for the programme: colonoscopy starts at 40, or 10 years before the age your relative was diagnosed, whichever comes first. Tell your doctor.
24–28per 1,000
bowel cancer deaths avoided per 1,000 people screened from 45 to 75, modelled estimate (US)
modelled estimate
The model assumes a FIT every year (or a colonoscopy every 10 years) from 45. The programme here, every 2 years from 50, prevents somewhat fewer deaths.
What the evidence says
A stool test (FIT) every 2 years: in Ontario from 45 since 1 July 2026, in Québec from 50 to 74. Québec has no organised programme with letters yet: a doctor or nurse practitioner prescribes the kit, or a nurse starts it after talking with you.
Covered. In Ontario the kit is mailed after your doctor orders it, or through Health811 if you have no doctor; letters to people aged 45–49 go out over two years, so ask rather than wait.
18–39, every 3 years (or every 5 years if normal); from 40, every year
High blood pressure, which causes no symptoms and raises the risk of heart attack and stroke.
no death count for the test
No trial compares people whose blood pressure was measured with people whose was not. The benefit comes from treatment, which clearly cuts heart attacks and strokes.
What the evidence says
Measured from 18: every 3–5 years up to 40 if normal, then every year (US guidance, USPSTF).
At your family doctor or nurse practitioner, covered by your provincial plan. No doctor? In Ontario, Health Care Connect finds one (call 811); in Québec, the Guichet d'accès à la première ligne.
Men: from 40, every 5 years; Women: from 50, every 5 years
Your chance of a heart attack or stroke in the next 10 years, worked out from cholesterol, blood pressure, age and smoking.
no death count for the test
The benefit comes from treatment: in 18 trials of adults with no previous heart attack or stroke, statins meant about 3.5 fewer deaths per 1,000 people treated, over 6 months to 6 years.
What the evidence says
European prevention guideline (ESC, 2021): risk assessment may be considered in men over 40 and women over 50.
At your family doctor or nurse practitioner, covered by your provincial plan. No doctor? In Ontario, Health Care Connect finds one (call 811); in Québec, the Guichet d'accès à la première ligne.
At your family doctor or nurse practitioner, covered by your provincial plan. No doctor? In Ontario, Health Care Connect finds one (call 811); in Québec, the Guichet d'accès à la première ligne.
from 18, once, if never done (again after any new risk)
HIV infection, which treated in time means a near-normal lifespan.
no death count for the test
The benefit comes from starting treatment early; no death count has been measured for the test itself.
What the evidence says
No general programme; testing is recommended after any possible risk.
What's covered
Covered when a clinician orders it, and at sexual health clinics.
Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) scan
65–80, once, if never done
A swelling of the main artery in the abdomen that causes no pain and no signs until it bursts.
4.6per 1,000
aneurysm deaths prevented per 1,000 men invited to one scan, over 13 years (MASS trial)
measured in a trial
In December 1948 the surgeon Rudolph Nissen opened Albert Einstein's abdomen in Brooklyn and found a large aneurysm on the aorta. There was no way to replace it, so he wrapped it in cellophane to stiffen it. Einstein lived six more years. In April 1955 the aneurysm burst; he refused surgery and died on 18 April. Today the same swelling shows up on a scan that takes a few minutes.
What the evidence says
The national task force recommends one ultrasound for men aged 65–80, and not screening women.
High-risk types of HPV, which over years can turn cells of the cervix into cancer. A positive test leads to a check of the cells and, if needed, a colposcopy, where changes are found before they become cancer.
8per 1,000
cervical cancer deaths avoided per 1,000 women with an HPV test every 5 years from 30 to 65, compared with none: from 8.34 to 0.29 (modelled estimate, US)
modelled estimate
What the evidence says
Ontario: an HPV test every 5 years from 25, stopping at 65–69; it replaced the Pap test in March 2025. In Québec the HPV test runs from 25 to 65 and is replacing the Pap test region by region, so ask which one you get; do not have an HPV test less than 3 years after a Pap.
40–49, every 2 years (Ontario: self-referral; Québec: with a prescription); 50–74, every 2 years
Breast cancer while it is small, before it can be felt.
4.3per 1,000
breast cancer deaths prevented per 1,000 women invited from 50, over 20 years
estimated from 11 trials
12.9 cancers found that would never have caused harm (overdiagnosis)
What the evidence says
A mammogram every 2 years from 50 to 74 in both provinces. In Ontario women 40–49 can book one themselves; the national task force's 2024 draft suggests not screening routinely in the 40s, so it is a choice.
Lung cancer at a stage when it can still be operated on.
3per 1,000
lung cancer deaths prevented per 1,000 heavy smokers scanned yearly, over about 7 years, compared with chest X-ray (NLST)
measured in a trial
Nearly a quarter of scans come back positive at first; almost all turn out to be false alarms.
What the evidence says
Ontario Lung Screening Program: low-dose CT for people 55–80 who smoked daily for at least 20 years (not necessarily in a row), after a risk assessment. Québec is rolling out lung screening region by region through its regional coordination centres.
Prostate cancer, including many small tumours that would never have caused harm.
If your father or brother had prostate cancer, or you are of African descent, the PSA conversation starts at 45; with a BRCA2 mutation, at 40 (European urology guideline, EAU).
2.2per 1,000
prostate cancer deaths prevented per 1,000 men aged 55–69 invited to PSA testing, over 23 years (ERSPC)
measured in a trial
More than 45% of men tested at every round had at least one false positive over 10 years, and 20–50% of the cancers found would never have caused harm.
What the evidence says
The national task force recommends not screening with the PSA test at any age.
Private clinics sell 'complete' check-ups. The tests below often appear in them and have no evidence of saving lives in people without symptoms and at average risk; some cause harm. Symptoms need a doctor, not a screening list.
Tumour markers (CEA, CA-125, CA 19-9, CA 15-3, AFP) without symptoms
In two large trials of CA-125, women who were tested were no less likely to die of ovarian cancer. Between 1% and 3% had surgery without having cancer, and up to 15% of those had serious complications.
In South Korea, once thyroid ultrasound was added to routine checks, thyroid cancer diagnoses rose fifteenfold in 18 years while deaths stayed flat. Of those operated on, 11% were left with damaged parathyroid glands.
The US Food and Drug Administration says it knows of no evidence that whole-body scanning of people without symptoms does more good than harm. It finds 'something' in many people, and each finding leads to more tests.
A Cochrane review of 17 trials with over 230,000 people found no difference in deaths between people invited to general health checks and those who were not. What matters is the tests that fit your age, not how many.
Covered by provincial plans: cervical screening from 25 (HPV test every 5 years in Ontario); a mammogram every 2 years from 50 to 74 (from 40 by self-referral in Ontario); a stool test every 2 years from 50 to 74 (from 45 in Ontario since July 2026). Ontario also screens heavy smokers aged 55–80 for lung cancer.
Which tests should you have at 40?
Women: Cervical screening, Blood pressure, Breast screening (mammogram), Blood sugar test for diabetes, HIV, one-time test. Men: Blood pressure, Cholesterol and 10-year heart and stroke risk, Blood sugar test for diabetes, HIV, one-time test.
Which screening should you have from 50?
Women: Cervical screening, Breast screening (mammogram), Bowel cancer screening (FIT kit), Blood pressure, Cholesterol and 10-year heart and stroke risk, Blood sugar test for diabetes, HIV, one-time test. Men: Bowel cancer screening (FIT kit), Blood pressure, Cholesterol and 10-year heart and stroke risk, Blood sugar test for diabetes, HIV, one-time test. In Ontario, heavy smokers aged 55–80 can be referred to the lung screening programme.
Which screening should you have from 65?
Women: Cervical screening, Breast screening (mammogram), Bowel cancer screening (FIT kit), Blood pressure, Cholesterol and 10-year heart and stroke risk, Blood sugar test for diabetes, HIV, one-time test. Men: Bowel cancer screening (FIT kit), Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) scan, Blood pressure, Cholesterol and 10-year heart and stroke risk, Blood sugar test for diabetes, HIV, one-time test. In Ontario, heavy smokers aged 55–80 can be referred to the lung screening programme.
Is a private full check-up worth it?
Usually not. Canada's task force recommends against PSA screening, and a Cochrane review of 17 trials found general health checks made no difference to deaths. What matters is the screening that fits your age.
Screening in Canada is run by each province. The evidence column follows the Ontario and Québec programmes and the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care; for the size of each benefit, the randomised trials and the US Preventive Services Task Force evidence reviews. Other provinces have similar programmes with different ages.
Lives saved are absolute: deaths avoided per 1,000 people, not '42% fewer'. Some come from trials (people invited, followed for a fixed number of years), others from models that assume you take every test for life. They are labelled separately and not ranked.
This page does not replace your doctor. With symptoms, a family history of cancer or a long-term condition, your list is different and is made with them.
Why the ages change
Screening ages move when the evidence moves, and lately they have moved down because some diseases now appear earlier: in 2021 the US lowered bowel screening from 50 to 45 as bowel cancer rose in younger adults, and diabetes testing from 40 to 35; Spain and Austria widened their programmes in 2025–2026. Every rule here was checked in September 2026. Screening finds disease early; it does not prevent it. The other half stays the same: not smoking, a healthy weight, moving more and drinking less.
Sources
Every rule and number on the page, with its source. Checked on 27 September 2026.