March 19, 2012

Government officials have issued new guidelines to better protect women from the dangers of pregnancy complications that can be caused by over-testing for cervical cancer. According to THV News, the U.S. Preventative Task Force has called for women to be tested for the disease less often.

Rather than being tested once a year, regulations now say that women ages 21 to 65 should be screened for cervical cancer only once every three years. Women ages 30 and over who are at a low risk for the disease need only be tested once every five years if they receive a Human papillomavirus screening at the same time.

Doctors have claimed in the past that over-screening is leading to a high number of false positives on tests that have women undergoing unnecessary procedures that could leave them with pregnancy and fertility complications.

While officials say that women should be tested for certain conditions less, they add that it does not mean that women should skip their annual appointment with their gynecologist. One doctor stated that there are numerous other factors of a woman’s health that are evaluated during that appointment, such as contraception, sexually transmitted diseases, breast health, bone health, hypertension, and diabetes.

The Arkansas Medical Malpractice Attorneys with Rainwater, Holt, and Sexton would advise you to seek a second opinion from another doctor if you believe you have been harmed by a doctor’s diagnosis of your medical condition.