Women with false-positive mammograms report high anxiety and reduced quality of life
Thursday, January 13, 2011 - 10:30
in Health & Medicine
Doctors are calling for women to receive more information about the pitfalls of breast cancer screening, as well as the benefits, after some women who received false-positive results faced serious anxiety and reduced quality of life for at least a year. The study of 385 women found that the 233 with false-positive results - where the mammogram is abnormal but no cancer is present - had to undergo more diagnostic procedures than women with breast cancer before they were given the all clear. And women who had a tendency to be anxious fared much worse if they received a false-positive - estimated to happen in 60% of abnormal mammograms - than if they were actually diagnosed with breast cancer.