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Pap Test: Preventing Cervical Cancer
By admin | February 9, 2008
Last week, we talked about the basics of cervical cancer. As a summary, cervical cancer is caused by human papillomavirus or HPV infection. Some women as *lucky* enough to get warts before being diagnosed with cervical cancer. Some aren’t as lucky. That doesn’t mean there’s no way to test and figure out if they DO have cervical cancer. For that, there’s pap test (or pap smear, smear test, or cervical smear). As was mentioned, it’s ideal to start having pap tests three years after being sexually active and every year subsequent to that.
Pap tests are named after its inventor, Georgios Papanikolaou. Pap test or pap smear has the ability to detect infections, abnormalities, premalignant and malignant processes in the female genital tract. Pap tests use liquid based cell thinlayer technology. Basically, cells from a woman’s uterus, cervix, and endocervix are collected and tested. The cells are collected using, usually, a plastic-fronded broom. To be able to determine a diagnosis, the cells are stained and then tested.
Among those who get tested for pap test, around 5-7% get diagnosed with aberrations such as dysplasia or an abnormal maturation of cells. While those who do get such results from pap tests could develop cervical cancer, that’s not always the case. There are those who are diagnosed with dysplasia but never develop cervical cancer anytime during their lifetime. Of course, the cells collected are also tested for HPV, the cause of cervical cancer. When scheduling for a pap test, ensure that it’s not your menstrual cycle at that time of the month. Expect the procedure to hurt a bit, although the pain might vary, depending upon a number of factors. After-effects of a pap test include various discomforts, cramps, and yes, bleeding. Better those than cervical cancer, right?
Topics: Prevention |
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