Cancer services in the southwest
The South West Regional Cancer Program (SWRCP) supports a variety of cancer screening in 14 areas across Ontario’s southwest region.
London Health Sciences Centre is home to the Verspeeten Family Cancer Centre – the regional cancer centre for the province’s southwest region. As the regional centre, many of the regional cancer treatment services are provided at the Verspeeten Family Cancer Centre.
Ontario has four cancer screening programs:
- The Ontario Breast Screening Program
- The Ontario Cervical Screening Program
- ColonCancerCheck
- The Ontario Lung Screening Program
Breast screening
If you are 40 years of age and older, talk with your primary care provider about getting checked for breast cancer. Regular screening can detect cancer early, improving the chances for positive treatment outcomes. Even if you don't have a primary care provider, and you are over the age of 40 you can still get a mammogram.
You can search for mammogram wait times in your area on the Ontario Health website.
For more information about breast screening and how to get screened, visit the Screening for Breast Cancer page on the Cancer Care Ontario website.
The following sites offer breast cancer screening services in the southwest region:
- St. Joseph’s Health Care, London (including high risk breast screening and breast diagnostic assessment)
- Hanover
- Kincardine
- Goderich
- Walkerton (including breast diagnostic assessment)
- Strathroy (including breast diagnostic assessment)
- Owen Sound (including high risk breast screening and breast diagnostic assessment)
- Listowel/Wingham (including breast diagnostic assessment)
- Stratford (including breast diagnostic assessment)
- Woodstock (including breast diagnostic assessment)
- St. Thomas (including breast diagnostic assessment)
- Tillsonburg
Colorectal screening and Endoscopy
Talk with your family doctor or nurse practitioner about screening with FIT to prevent colon cancer. If you do not have a family doctor or nurse practitioner, you can get your free ColonCancerCheck FIT kit from Health Connect Ontario by calling at 811 or (TTY:1-866-797-0007).
For more information about colon cancer screening visit Screening for Colorectal Cancer page on the Cancer Care Ontario website.
Following a referral from a primary care provider, you can get an endoscopy at the following sites in the southwest region:
- London Health Sciences Centre (and colorectal screening)
- Hanover
- Kincardine
- Walkerton
- Goderich
- Strathroy
- Newbury
- St. Thomas
- Tillsonburg
- Woodstock (and colorectal screening)
- Stratford (and colorectal screening)
- Listowel/Wingham
- Owen Sound (and colorectal screening)
Ontario Cervical Screening Program
Cervical cancer is almost always preventable. Regular screening is important for preventing cervical cancer. Anyone with a cervix who is or who has ever been sexually active can get cervical cancer. A cervical screening test checks for the signs of cancer before it starts. Talk to your family doctor, nurse practitioner or midwife about getting checked with a cervical screening test to help prevent cervical cancer. For more information on cervical screening, visit the Cervical Screening page on the Cancer Care Ontario website.
Other services available by site
London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC)
A specialized centre for:
- Thoracic
- Heptobiliary pancreatic cancers (HPB) - including bile duct/gallbladder, pancreas and secondary liver cancers
- Gyne-oncology
- Head and neck cancers, and
- Neuroendocrine cancer care
LHSC also provides sarcoma and complex malignant hematology and transplant services.
St. Joseph’s Health Care London
- Colposcopy
St. Thomas
- Pathology services
- Surgery
- Systemic therapy
Tillsonburg
- Surgery
Woodstock
- Pathology services
- Surgery
- Systemic therapy
Stratford
- Pathology services
- Surgery
- Systemic therapy
Listowel/Wingham
- Surgery
- Systemic therapy
Owen Sound
- Pathology services
- Lung diagnostic assessment
- Prostate diagnostic assessment
- Surgery
- Systemic therapy
- Psychosocial oncology services
