All You Should Know About False Positive Test Results

This article intends to help you understand basic well-researched facts about how women deal with false positives in breast cancer testing. First, it has been found that after a false positive, women often forget about visiting the doctor for the subsequent tests. They take almost five years before going back to the hospital. At this time, they may have developed cancer and it could be in its late stages, making it hard for them to survive. However, when breast cancer is detected early when it is still in the first stages, then it means that its spread can be arrested and put under control before it spreads much further. Wrong results could bring any required treatment into disarray and could eventually turn fatal.

Why women evade scheduled tests after wrong results

Testing and treating cancer may be expensive depending on the stage or the advancement of the cancer. This is true especially, when you consult with any healthcare provider.

The main ‘demotivators’ is the stress that comes with the additional tests. No one like’s frequent hospital visits. Some of the tests are painful thus discouraging. This causes one to relax at home because the machine was wrong anyway. The second research finding shows that women who get genuine negative results were more likely to go for screening in three years than women with wrong positive results were.

Besides, some insurance companies do not pay for the subsequent tests; this causes financial constraints, especially if one is on a tight budget.

What can be done about false positives?

Machines are developed by human beings thus may not be 100% perfect. This means that more effort needs to put into research, to come up with better, more accurate inventions. This will help reduce wrong results thus decrease psychological discomfort in women.

What increases chances of a woman having cancer

Several factors increase a woman’s vulnerability to getting cancer. Some of them are genetics, age, color and exposure to radiation.

However, there are minimal chances that women who skip mammograms after false positives, will be at a risk to get the disease. This is because diseases are unpredictable. A woman may contract cancer in the five years that she evades screening after a false diagnosis. One never knows she has it unless tested.

The study mentioned some risk factors are meant to encourage women to embrace scheduled tests, whether they get a false positive or a true negative. However, the frequency of the tests should be once a year. A woman should not be obsessed with screening. Too much of something is poison. One thing to note is that not all tumors are dangerous. When breast cancer is detected at the early stages, it is treatable. In addition, the treatment procedure is less painful than when cancer is identified at the late stages.