Maurice Savage / Alamy
THAT cancer screening is a double-edged sword should come as no surprise by now. Screening programmes undoubtedly save some lives; but they are blunt instruments, often producing false positive results that lead to emotional distress, unnecessary surgery and debilitating side-effects. It is a dilemma already much discussed with breast cancer screening in women, and prostate cancer screening in men.
Now it is the turn of cervical smear tests (also known as pap tests), as new research reveals that surgery following a positive result increases the risk of miscarriage or premature birth in subsequent pregnancies (see “Women aren’t being told real…
