FAQ

Designed by Cancer Care Ontario (CCO), Ontario’s provincial cancer agency, My CancerIQ is a website that helps you understand your risk for cancer and what you can do to help lower that risk.

The site features a series of interactive assessments that calculate your risk of cancer compared with other Ontarians age 40 and over who have never had cancer. At the end of each assessment you receive a personalized risk report and action plan with tips and resources based on your personal risk factors.

The assessments won’t tell you whether you’ll get cancer or not, but they can help you focus on specific changes you can make to lower your cancer risk and live a healthier life.

You’ll also find general information on risk factors and cancer prevention in our About Cancer Risk section.

To learn more about the website and assessments please visit the About My CancerIQ page.

My CancerIQ was designed for Ontarians by a team of experts in consultation with Cancer Care Ontario (CCO).

The assessments are based on a highly respected international cancer risk algorithm. The algorithm was then adapted by the scientists at CCO to reflect the latest data on cancer rates in Ontario. Results are calculated relative to the population of Ontario and so may vary from those estimated by other online risk calculators using different data.

The assessments are a great way for all adult Ontarians to learn more about the factors that affect cancer risk. The results will be most accurate for Ontarians age 40 and over who have never had any type of cancer.

You can also learn more about cancer risk factors and get general risk-reduction tips and resources in the About Cancer Risk section.

Taking an assessment will help you learn what factors may be increasing or decreasing your risk of developing a specific type of cancer. At the end of each assessment you receive a personalized risk report and action plan with tips and resources on how you can lower your risk.

For several cancers, you’ll also get important information on screening tests. Screening can help detect pre-cancerous changes or spot cancer in its early stages before it has a chance to spread.

Most questions will be about things you already know, like whether you smoke or how physically active you are. But before you start you may want to gather as much information as you can about your family cancer history. For some cancers, having a close relative (parent, brother, sister or child) who has been diagnosed with cancer can affect your risk.

We recommend that all adults in Ontario take the colorectal cancer (cancer of the colon or rectum) lung cancer, kidney cancer and melanoma assessments.

The breast cancer and cervical cancer assessments should be taken by adult women in Ontario. (Cervical cancer can only occur in women and although men can develop breast cancer, the current assessment is specific to female breast cancer.)

If you are a smoker you may have an increased risk for several kinds of cancer. We recommend that you take all assessments for someone of your sex.

Currently, printable versions of the assessments are not available. You can save, print or email your personalized risk report and action plan.

This site works best on the following browsers:

• Internet Explorer (version 8.0 and above)
• Google Chrome
• Mozilla Firefox
• Safari (version 6.0 and above)

This site is also accessible on mobile phone and tablet.

In case you’re having trouble viewing the content on your mobile phone or tablet, please switch to a desktop computer.

We expect to add new assessments every one to two years. We’ll also update existing assessments to keep them current (for example, if there are changes to Ontario screening guidelines or if new scientific information on risk factors becomes available).

To find out when new information or assessments are added to the site, sign up for email updates.

We take your privacy seriously. If you sign up to receive email updates we will never share your email address with third parties.

As you take an assessment your answers will be retained so you can go back and see them. If you decide to take another assessment during the same browser session, the site will remember any previous answers so you don’t have to enter them twice (your age, for example). As soon as you close your browser session, your answers and assessment report will be deleted.

You may choose to save or print your results, or email them as a PDF file with a password. In all of these cases we will only retain your data for as long as necessary to provide the report.

If you choose to complete our customer satisfaction survey, you will not be asked for any identifying information. Your answers to the questions will be completely anonymous.

For more information on how we keep your personal information safe, please refer to our Legal & Privacy page.

Ontario Health is an “institution” under the Ontario Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA). Part III of FIPPA regulates Ontario Health’s collection, use and disclosure of “personal information”, which includes your personal email address, the answers you provide to us by using our cancer risk assessment tool, and your cancer risk assessment.

Under Part III of FIPPA, Ontario Health may only collect personal information if such collection is “necessary to the proper administration of a lawfully authorized activity” (FIPPA, s. 38(2)). One of Ontario Health’s objectives under the Ontario Cancer Act is to educate the public about the importance of early recognition and treatment of cancer (Cancer Act, s. 5(g)). Ontario Health’s collection of personal information is necessary to achieve this objective.

To review FIPPA, please click here.

To review the Ontario Cancer Act, please click here.

Generally, Ontario Health is collecting your personal information in order to facilitate your use of the website. In particular:

• Ontario Health collects your answers to our cancer risk assessment questions in order to generate your personalized cancer risk assessment (and, for answers about sex and age, to track usage of the website).
• At your request, Ontario Health collects your email address:
  • to send you your cancer risk assessment; and/or
  • if you want updates, to notify you about updates to the website and/or other Ontario Health programs.
• If you contact us with a question or concern and provide us with your contact information (e.g., your name and telephone number), Ontario Health will collect such information
  • to provide you with a response; and
  • to log that we responded to your question or concern.

Ontario Health will not share your answers to our cancer risk assessment questions with anyone. The only exception will be answers to questions about sex and age, which will be shared with Google Analytics to track usage of the website, separate from any identifiable information about you.

If you provide us with your email address, Ontario Health may share your email address with its email service providers:

• The Rocket Science Group, LLC d/b/a MailChimp (“MailChimp”), in accordance with MailChimp’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy for its email service, Mandrill®, as set out on MailChimp’s website for Mandrill®, www.mandrill.com;
• Amazon Web Services, Inc., in accordance with AWS’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy for its email service, Amazon SES, as set out on Amazon Web Services’ website for SES, https://aws.amazon.com/ses/

If you share your information with us as part of the feedback survey on My CancerIQ website, this information will be subject to SurveyMonkey’s applicable privacy policies, available at https://www.surveymonkey.com/mp/policy/privacy-policy/.

Generally Ontario Health will only retain your personal information for as long as we need it to facilitate your use of our website. The retention period depends on (a) the type of personal information you provide us and (b) the specific purpose for which it was collected. In particular:

• Your cancer risk assessment answers will be deleted once you finish using our website;
• If you provide us your email address for Ontario Health to send you a copy of your cancer risk assessment, your email address will be deleted once the email has been sent;
• If you provide us your email address to receive updates about our website or other Ontario Health programs, we will retain your email address indefinitely unless you unsubscribe from such updates – your email address will be deleted after you unsubscribe;

If you contact us directly and provide us with your contact information to permit us to respond to your question or concern, your contact information will be retained indefinitely in order for Ontario Health to maintain a record of its response to you.

All personal information retained by Ontario Health in relation to the website is stored electronically on a secure drive in a database or other electronic file that is separate and apart from Ontario Health’s other data holdings. Internal access to such personal information will be granted only to Ontario Health staff members who require such access to do their work (e.g., preparing an email campaign for individuals who have requested updates on Ontario Health programs). Such access by Ontario Health staff members will be tracked through Ontario Health’s Logging, Monitoring and Auditing System.

If you have any questions about Ontario Health’s collection of your personal information through the website, please contact a Ontario Health Client Service Representative at the My CancerIQ support line toll-free: 1-844-523-4584 (Ontario only), or write us at:
Ontario Health Contact Centre
5-525 University Ave
Toronto, ON, M5G 2L3

You may also submit a concern or complaint about our information practices to the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario by contacting:

Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner/Ontario
2 Bloor Street East, Suite 1400
Toronto, ON M4W 1A8
Telephone: 416-326-3333 or 1-800-387-0073
TDD/TTY: 416-325-7539

Cookies allow websites to store information on your computer so that it can be retrieved by you later. Having cookies enabled in your browser allows your computer to retain your answers to the assessment questions while you are on the site. It will also help us pre-populate answers you have already given in one assessment so you don’t have to answer the same question again in other assessments.

Even with cookies enabled, any answers you provide will be deleted as soon as you close your browser session. Your data will not be stored anywhere on our servers and we will not be able to see it.

If you choose to share a page on My CancerIQ via social media, the only thing shared will be a generic link to that page. People with whom you share My CancerIQ on social media will never see your answers to assessment questions or your risk assessment results.

The calculations we use to assess your risk are based on studies of people who have no previous history of cancer. If you’ve had cancer you can still take an assessment but the results you receive will not be an accurate assessment of your risk.

If you have symptoms that concern you or think that you might have cancer, please contact your healthcare provider.

The assessments currently featured on this site reflect the types of cancers responsible for significant illness and disability in Ontario.

• Lung cancer is the second most commonly diagnosed cancer in Ontario and the most common cause of cancer death.
• Colorectal cancer (cancer of the colon or rectum) is the fourth most commonly diagnosed form of cancer in Ontario. It is the second most common cause of cancer death among Ontario men and the third most common cause of cancer death for Ontario women.
• Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer in Ontario women and the second most common cause of cancer deaths in Ontario women.
• Cervical cancer is not as common as colorectal, lung or breast cancer but it is highly preventable. Among Ontario women 20 - 44 it is the third most commonly diagnosed type of cancer.
• Melanoma is one of the most common forms of cancer in Ontario – even though it is highly preventable.
• Kidney cancer or renal carcinoma is a serious but preventable form of cancer.

The province of Ontario has excellent screening programs in place to help detect possible cervical, breast and colorectal cancers. The assessments for these cancers will help you recognize your risk factors, find out if you might benefit from screening, or may need screening earlier or more often than others.

We expect to add new cancer assessments every one to two years. To find out when new information or assessments are added to the site, sign up for email updates.

Although some things — like your age or being a smoker — can increase your risk for many cancers, each type of cancer has its own set of risk factors. Our assessments are based on the latest scientific evidence and will help you understand the specific factors that increase or decrease your risk for each cancer.

Yes.

Each type of cancer has its own set of risk factors, although some factors, like smoking, increase your risk for many cancers. Depending on your age, family history, lifestyle and other factors, you may be at a lower risk for some cancers and at a greater risk for others.

The good news is that things you do to reduce your risk for one cancer, such as eating a healthy diet, quitting smoking or getting more exercise, can also reduce your risk of developing other cancers and chronic diseases.

Our assessments are based on the best available scientific evidence on which factors are known to increase cancer risk. A risk factor is included if the scientists who reviewed the data concluded that there is enough evidence to consider it a cause or a probable cause of cancer.

If an assessment does not include a question about something you think may affect your risk, it’s because studies have not shown strong enough evidence linking it to that particular type of cancer. Our assessments are based on the best available scientific evidence but cancers are complex diseases and new information is always emerging. If new evidence on particular risk factors becomes available we will update our content to reflect the new data.

To find out when assessments are updated or when new information is added to the site sign up for email updates.

Our assessments are based on the best available scientific evidence but cancers are complex diseases and new information is always emerging.

The assessments include questions about ethnicity or socioeconomic status only if there is enough evidence linking these factors with a particular cancer. For example, our breast cancer assessment includes a question about Ashkenazi Jewish heritage because women with this background are more likely to have a genetic mutation that can increase the risk of breast cancer. If new evidence on socioeconomic status or ethnicity becomes available we will update our content to reflect the new data.

To learn more about cancer visit the Canadian Cancer Society website.

For information and support by phone, call toll-free 1-888-939-3333, TTY 1-866-786-1934 Monday to Friday. Ask about programs available through your local Public Health Unit.

You’ll also find lots more information and resources in our About Cancer Risk section.

Canada’s Low Risk Drinking Guidelines from the Canadian Centre for Substance Abuse were developed from estimates of the overall risk of premature death for drinkers compared to non-drinking men and women. This estimate looked at 16 different causes of death, ranging from heart disease to motor vehicle accidents. Drinking increases the risk of dying from some diseases but may modestly reduce the risk of others. Based on all of these conditions, Canada’s Low Risk Drinking Guidelines recommend that women should drink no more than 2 drinks a day, up to a weekly maximum of 10 drinks. Men are encouraged to drink no more than 3 drinks a day, up to a weekly maximum of 15 drinks. To avoid developing a habit, both men and women are encouraged to plan non-drinking days every week.

Alcohol is recognized as a carcinogen or cancer-causing substance. Drinking even modest amounts increases the risk of developing cancer of the breast, colon, rectum, esophagus, larynx, liver, mouth and pharynx. For these cancers, no amount of alcohol may be safe. To minimize the risk of cancer, the Canadian Cancer Society recommends less than 1 drink a day for women and less than 2 drinks a day for men. Those with many risk factors may want to drink even less or not to drink alcohol at all.

In many cases the serving sizes are similar. However, there are also some small differences. For example, in the colorectal risk assessment, a serving of yogurt is described as 250 mL or 1 cup. In contrast, in Canada’s Food Guide a serving of yogurt is defined as 175 mL or ¾ cup.

The recommendations and serving sizes in Canada’s Food Guide were developed to help Canadians make food choices that meet their nutrient needs, promote health and contribute to the prevention of obesity and a wide range of diseases such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, osteoporosis and some types of cancer. It does not focus solely upon cancer.

The serving sizes in the My CancerIQ questionnaires are based upon scientists’ analyses of many research studies looking at the relationship between diet and cancer. Some of these studies were conducted outside of Canada and may have used serving sizes different from those in Canada’s Food Guide. More importantly, these studies looked only at the effect of diet on specific types of cancer. As a result, sometimes there are small differences between the information in My CancerIQ and the dietary recommendations in Canada’s Food Guide.

To learn more, talk with your doctor, nurse practitioner or local Public Health Unit or call EatRight Ontario (1-877-510-5102) to speak with a Registered Dietitian.

After you complete an assessment you’ll receive a personalized risk report and action plan. Some people find it interesting to see how their risk might change if they change certain behaviours (getting more exercise, for example).

To go back and see how changing your answers will affect your results, click the Change your answers button at the end of your assessment. Remember that changing one answer may mean you have to re-answer other questions as well.

Your answers will be retained while you take an assessment but will be deleted as soon as you close your browser session. Within the same browser session, the site will remember your answers to any questions that are repeated between assessments. This means that if you enter your age in one assessment, for example, your answer will appear in other assessments as long as you do not end your browser session.

You may choose to save or print your results, or email your report as a PDF so you can password-protect it. In all of these cases your data will not be stored anywhere on our servers and we will not be able to see it.

Learn more about CCO’s collection of your assessment answers

You may choose to save, email or print your results to refer to later or share with your healthcare provider.

The site does not have a built-in functionality for printing out the assessment questions.

As you take an assessment your answers will be retained so you can go back and see them. If you decide to take another assessment during the same browser session, the site will remember any previous answers so you don’t have to enter them twice (your age, for example). As soon as you close your browser session, your answers and assessment report will be deleted.

At this time there is no option to create a profile or store your information on the CCO site. But the assessments are easy to complete and we recommend you come back from time to time to see how your risk may have changed.

Sign up for email updates to find out when new information or assessments are added to the site.

Learn more about CCO’s collection of your assessment answers.

To be notified when our assessments are updated or when new cancer risk assessments are added to the site, sign up for email updates.

The risk assessment results are calculated using an expert-developed risk algorithm that was tailored to the population of Ontario by scientists at Cancer Care Ontario.

For more information about how your results were calculated and the limitations of that calculation, please refer to the About My CancerIQ section.

Yes! Discussing your results can help you and your healthcare provider make important decisions about your health care, such as whether you should be screened for cancer and how you can incorporate lifestyle changes into your daily routine. It’s a great step toward achieving your goals for a healthier future.

Don’t forget to save, print or email your results at the end of the assessment so you can bring them to your next appointment.

Not necessarily. Cancers are complex diseases and many people who have risk factors don’t get cancer.

The assessments estimate your odds of developing cancer compared to other Ontarians age 40 and over who have never had cancer. However, they cannot accurately predict what will happen to any one individual.

If your risk result is higher than average, your risk may be greater than most Ontarians age 40 and over who have never had cancer. Check your risk assessment report or talk with your healthcare provider about what you can do to reduce your risk. You may, for example, be able to change some risk factors that increase your risk.

For more information about how your results were calculated and the limitations of that calculation, please refer to the About My CancerIQ section.

Not necessarily. Cancers are complex diseases and some people who develop cancer have no known risk factors. The assessments estimate your odds of developing cancer compared to other Ontarians of the same age and sex. However, it may not accurately predict what will happen to any one individual.

If your risk result is “lower than average” it means your risk appears to be lower than most Ontarians 40 and over. But it doesn’t mean you are totally free of any risk or that your risk may not change in the future. We recommend you repeat the assessment from time to time to see if your risk may have changed and to stay on track.

The term “cancer” refers to a family of complex diseases. Cancers can affect different parts of the body (e.g., the skin, organs, bone or blood) and each type of cancer can be associated with a variety of genetic, behavioural, infectious and/or environmental factors.

Some of the risk factors are the same or similar across different types of cancer. For example, smoking can increase the risk of several types of cancer because tobacco smoke includes cancer-causing agents. In other cases, however, factors may be specific to a certain type of cancer (e.g., the human papillomavirus is only associated with cervical cancer). In some cases, because the underlying diseases are so different, a risk factor may appear to increase the risk of one form of cancer but have no effect or actually reduce the risk of another type.

Differences in the risk factors of various types of cancer may reflect underlying differences in how these diseases develop. As well, what we see as differences may be the result of other factors that confuse or distort the relationship between a risk factor and a cancer (referred to as “confounding factors”). Finally, what appears as conflicting effects may actually reflect gaps in our understanding of how different types of cancer develop. Cancer disease processes are so complex that it can be difficult to know all of the various factors that may be involved.

Our assessments are meant to be an educational tool to help you understand risk factors and how to lower your risk. They are not intended to diagnose cancer in any one individual, and they can’t predict who will or will not develop cancer in the future.

If you’re concerned because your risk is higher than you expected, you may want to discuss your results with your healthcare provider.

If your risk is lower than you expected, it’s still important to continue doing the things that are keeping your risk down. Risk factors can also change over time. We recommend you repeat the assessments from time to time to see how your risk may have changed.

At the end of each assessment you’ll receive a personalized risk report and action plan full of tips and links to helpful resources.

You can also learn more about cancer risk factors and find general risk-reduction tips and resources in About Cancer Risk or on our Helpful Links page.