Should you take that screening test?

Should you take that medical test that your doctor — or that ad — is telling you to take?

Medical screening tests are increasingly promoted as something that will save or add years to our lives, or at least tell us that we are sick and need treatment. Depression screening, Pap tests, cholesterol screening, and other tests are proliferating as fast as the proposed treatments – often drugs – are being developed. Seldom can we open a magazine, turn on the TV or browse the Internet now without being asked to take a test – or to request one from our doctors.

But can there be too much screening? More and more reports are emerging that too much screening can be bad for your health.

CWHN has created a primer on the issue of medical overscreening. See what people are saying about this timely topic, in Women, gender and medical screening [3].