NOT THAT THEY DID THE ONES WITH GENUINE POSITIVES ANY GOOD EITHER:

Six months after hearing they did not have breast cancer, women with these false positives experienced changes in "existential values" and "inner calmness" as great as for women who had cancer. They reported having more anxiety, feeling more pessimistic and having more problems with their sleep and sex lives -- as well as other negative outcomes -- than women who had normal mammograms.

The effects moderated over time but were still apparent three years after the initial screening.

The findings suggest that healthcare providers need to pay closer attention to the harmful effects of screening programs, said University of Copenhagen physician-researcher Dr. John Brodersen, lead author of a study detailing the work published Monday in the journal Annals of Family Medicine.

"When I became a doctor and I took the Hippocratic Oath, I said, 'Do no harm,'" he said. "But this is harm."

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