Get screened for diseases
Some screenings can reduce your risk of dying from a disease. But sometimes, experts say, a test may cause more harm than good. Before you get a test, talk with your doctor about the possible benefits and harms to help you decide what’s best for your health.
To learn about screening tests, ask your doctor:
- What’s my chance of dying of the condition if I do or don’t have the screening?
- What are the harms of the test? How often do they occur?
- How likely are false positive or false negative results?
- What are possible harms of the diagnostic tests if I get a positive screening result?
- What’s the chance of finding a disease that woudn’t have caused a problem?
- How effective are the treatment options?
- Am I healthy enough to take the therapy if you discover a disease?
- What are other ways to decrease my risk of dying of this condition? How effective are they?
