My test was positive. Isn't positive supposed to be good?

In medicine positive only means the test found the thing it was looking for. It is not a judgment about good or bad. A positive result for infection means we found the infection.

It is one of the most confusing words we use, and we say it without thinking. If a result is described to you as positive or negative, ask us plainly what was found and what it means for you.

Written by two physicians. Checked against patient information from the US National Cancer Institute and Cancer Research UK.