A positive HPV result might cause some anxiety: This result doesn’t mean you have or will develop cervical cancer. Most people will clear an HPV infection, and not everyone with an HPV infection will develop cancer.
No screening test is perfect: Your cervix self-screening result could say no HPV is found even if you have pre-cancerous cells or cervical cancer. Or it might show HPV, even if your cervix cells are normal. Your Pap test result may say there are abnormal cells when there aren’t, or the test may miss abnormal cells that are really there.
Possible concerns and impacts of screening: Screening could result in additional tests and procedures that may be stressful for some people, and could have potential long-term impacts on future pregnancy (pre-term birth or low birth weight).
