Dangers of false positive mammograms

A study in the Annals highlights the long-term negative effects of false positive mammograms – which needs to be better publicized in this biased media flurry of cancer screening news:

The Chapel Hill team found higher levels of anxiety and distress among women who received false-positive mammograms. “These effects last for many years,” Brewer noted. “Although their anxiety is not generalized or at the level that requires medical intervention, it is an unnecessary consequence of poor medical care.”

False-positives are “harming women’s well-being,” Brewer said. “The U.S. needs to substantially improve its mammography screening practices.”