So your Pap smear results came back ‘inconclusive’ or ‘suspicious’ and you were told to repeat the test in so many months. You are nervous, worried, and — so typically — convinced you now have cancer…
In reality, fasle-positive results are not unusual and can be due to laboratory errors or to the presence of blood, or mucus or inflammation, or semen/spermicidal, etc., that mask the result. If the abnormalities require close scrutiny, your doctor will proceed with a colposcopy even before recommending a repeat Pap smear.
What can you do to minimize false-positive results? Read our post Tips for Gyno Exam. Beyond that, try to stay as calm as possible until you do the repeat test — it may very well come back negative and normal after all!