In honor of National Cervical Cancer Awareness Month, observed every January, our team at OBGYN Westside, PLLC, on the Upper West Side of New York City, shares the importance of routine Pap smears and how they can potentially save your life.
Pap smears go by many names: Papanicolaou test, cervical smear, or cervical cancer screening. Regardless of what you call it, this simple test can detect abnormal cells in your cervix before they become cancerous.
Read on to learn more about Pap smears.
A Pap smear is a quick and minimally uncomfortable procedure that takes just a few minutes during a routine gynecological exam. Because this simple test could help save your life, the benefits far outweigh the temporary discomfort.
Before your Pap smear, your OBGYN Westside provider inserts a speculum into your vagina. Then, they swipe a small brush against your cervix to collect a few cells.
The cells are sent to the lab, where they’re observed under a microscope. Your Pap smear results can indicate if you have normal cells, abnormal cells, or human papillomavirus (HPV).
A Pap smear is a screening test for cervical cancer and precancerous changes. It’s a tool to see who needs further diagnostic testing. That being said, a Pap smear can potentially save your life by bringing these issues to our attention.
We can’t treat a condition if we don’t know it’s there, and that’s just what a Pap smear does: it gives us clues that something’s amiss. Pap smears can:
Cervical cancer usually develops slowly. A Pap smear can detect abnormal changes even before it gets to that point. Abnormal Pap smear results are classified as one of the following:
This result refers to inflammation or mild abnormalities that may or may not indicate HPV or precancerous changes.
This indicates early changes in your cervical cells, often linked to HPV infection.
These are more severe changes that may progress to cervical cancer if left untreated.
This is the presence of abnormal glandular cells, potentially indicating precancerous conditions or cancer.
Graded as CIN 1 (mild), CIN 2 (moderate), or CIN 3 (severe), these results indicate different levels of precancerous changes.
This refers to early-stage cancer confined to the surface of your cervix.
This is an indication of high-risk types of HPV associated with cervical cancer.
Addressing abnormal cells before they turn into cancer can spare you the ordeal of cancer treatments.
For example, if your test results indicate you have an HSIL, you can take action. Surgical excision or ablation — depending on the result of your colposcopy — can prevent cellular changes from turning into cancer.
Early detection means less invasive treatments and a significantly higher survival rate. Even if your Pap smear detects early-stage cancer, the five-year survival rate is 91%, compared to 19% if it’s already spread.
Removing precancerous cells (and even some early-stage cancerous cells) stops those cells from spreading to other places in your body.
Most cases of cervical cancer are linked to high-risk strains of HPV. A Pap smear, often combined with an HPV test, can identify these high-risk infections. If you have a high-risk strain, you may need more frequent Pap smears to monitor for any abnormal changes.
For low risk women, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) advises women to begin Pap smear testing at age 21 and continue every three years if results are normal. Women over 30 will have a combination of Pap smear and HPV testing. This is called co-testing. Pap testing may be recommended more frequently on a case by case basis.
The Pap test is only one part of your annual gyn visit so even if you are not due for a Pap, yearly exams are still recommended to take care of your overall gynecological and sexual health. If you’re due for your annual visit (or you’re not sure if you are), we can help. Give us a call or book an appointment online today.
