A growing number of women are concerned about the reliability of pap smear results. A false negative might lead women who have undergone this routine medical screening to believe that they are in the clear for cervical cancer.

Whether due to mishandling by the testing facility or to the ordinary limitations of the test, a  false negative pap smear could miss the early signs of cervical cancer. The sooner the cancer is detected, the easier it is for it to be treated and the more likely it is for the patient to recover or to minimize the spread of the cancer.

However, a mishandled pap smear might give a woman a false sense of confidence about her health and could allow the cancer to develop untreated inside her body in the meantime. After receiving a false negative pap smear, a woman may be unlikely to get a second opinion or to receive another pap smear shortly thereafter that could catch the issue and allow her to begin receiving treatment.

Unfortunately, cervical cancer is known as one of the most common causes of cancer death in women.

Women who receive regular pap smears may believe that they are doing everything they can to screen for this issue. Indeed, pap smears are typically a reliable way to screen for signs of cancer. An abnormal pap test result could prompt a woman to get additional testing to verify whether or not pre-cancer of cervical cancer is present. Sadly, many of the most serious cervical cancers are identified in women who have not had regular pap smears.

Pap smears are so successful for identifying pre-cancerous cells and screenings for cervical cancer that in the past women were recommended by the American Cancer Society to begin getting them annually at age 18. New pap smear guidelines have emerged; meaning that women are recommended to get a pap smear test every three years between ages 21 and 29. Women ages 30 through 65 are told to get an HPD test or a pap test every five years.

A false negative pap smear, however, could give a woman the perception that she is free of cancer and lead her to not get any testing for another three or five years, according to her age guidelines. This could give the undiscovered cancer years to develop before being diagnosed and treated.

Many of the women whose pap smear results were negative but were later diagnosed with cervical cancer have chosen to take legal action. If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with cervical cancer in the last five years after getting a normal Pap smear test outcome, this could indicate that your results showed a false negative pap smear.