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Pap Smear

A regular Pap smear is a woman’s best way to prevent cervical cancer. After age 20, a woman should get a Pap smear every two years.

The Pap smear is your best way to prevent cervical cancer. For sexually active women, Healthful Life recommends that a Pap smear be done every two years after age 20. Cervical cancer usually develops quite slowly in three stages. In the first stage, the cells of the cervix (the lowest part of the womb) become abnormal. This change is call dysplasia. In most cases, dysplasia never progresses to actual cancer, but it is still a risk factor for cancer. Finding and removing those abnormal cells is considered primary prevention.

The second stage is totally localized non-invasive cancer called cancer in situ. If cancer is discovered by a Pap smear in the earliest stage, it can easily be removed. This second stage of cervical cancer may regress or it may remain stable without progressing. It may, however, develop into an invasive cancer. This change can occur very quickly or may take many years.

If a Pap smear is done and is negative, there is no reason to get another one for two years. If the Pap smear shows any abnormalities, it should be done yearly. If it shows a local tumor growth or dysplasia, it should be taken care of immediately. Even if a local tumor starts within the two-year interval, it will typically stay localized for a considerable time. Healthful Life continues to recommend two-year intervals for Pap smear tests, but other expert groups recommend two or three annual examinations, and then a Pap smear every three years. Older women should continue having Pap smears until at least four years after sexual intercourse has stopped.

While this may not prevent all cases of invasive cervical cancer, it will keep the occurrence to a minimum. Of course, if a woman has abnormal cells on a Pap smear, she should be closely supervised by her gynecologist.

The best way to prevent the 13,000 new cases and the 4,600 deaths each year is to have a regular Pap smear.