Question

Mammograms Many women choose to have annual mammograms to screen for breast cancer after age 40. A mammogram isn’t foolproof. Sometimes the test suggests that a woman has breast cancer when she really doesn’t (a ""false positive""). Other times the test says that a woman doesn’t have breast cancer when she actually does (a ""false negative""). Suppose the false negative rate for a mammogram is 0.10. Explain what this probability means. Which is a more serious error in this case: a false positive or a false negative? Justify your answer.

Answer 1

Answer:

A false negative would be a more serious issue. In a false negative result, a woman might be suffering from breast cancer but she will not be diagnosed. As a result, the woman will not take any treatment. This will result for cancer to spread. Cancer might spread to other body parts and might become extremely toxic for the woman. As cancer cannot normally be treated in the later stages, hence diagnosing it later wouldn't help. The woman might die due to the false-negative result.