Pap Smear Test: Detect Cervical Cancer in Women
Knowingly or unknowingly, everyone is suffering from the problems whether it is psychological or physical. Few are aware of their problems whereas some come to know when it begins getting worst. What if you know about your health issues from its very beginning?
Nature has bestowed women with extremely delicate and complex reproductive system. It is fairly significant to keep check on it timely. Every woman should get a pap smear test as a part of care and safety of their reproductive health.
Pap smear test is commonly recognized as pap test, which detects precancerous cells i.e., the cells that may develop into cancer in near future or existing cervical cancerous cells in women’s cervix (opening of the uterus). It is akin to pelvic examination.
Who needs pap smear test and how often?
With the increasing age, the risk factors also increase. From the age of 25, a women should get pap smear test in conjunction with HPV (Human Papilloma Virus) test every once in 5 years.
If you are HIV Positive or having any sexually transmitted disease or weak immune system due to chemotherapy or organ transplant then you should get PAP smear done.
You should get pap smear test on the basis of your age. Below 21, don’t need to undergo this test. Get tested once in three years if you are between 21 – 30 years. If you are between 30-65, then you should get pap swear along with HPV once in 5 years. After 65, you may not need this test and would be great to consult with the doctor about this.
Pap Smear Preparations:
- Schedule you appointment with gynecologist
- You can even schedule this along with your annual reproductive examination
- Try to avoid this during your menstrual cycle as it will not give accurate result
- Try to avoid douching (vaginal cleansers), sexual intercourse the day before your test as it will interfere the results.
- Avoid this test after24 weeks of pregnancy and after 12 weeks of parturition to get accurate result
- It will go in ease, if you stay calm and don’t panic at all
Pap Smear Test Process:
We will have you to lie down on your back on the examination table with split legs supported with stirrups
Our doctor will gently insert the speculum into your vagina which will keep the walls of vagina open in order to monitor the cervix.
Samples need to be gathered for the result. So, to gather the sample, doctor will scrap some cells from your cervix by using spatula or brush or cytobrush.
You may feel mild discomfort or bit of pain for very short time even light bleeding but not for the long time as it is pretty safe. When in very rare case, someone continues to have these issues in later days too, contact the doctor immediately.
The samples will be sent to the laboratory for the further probe to check the abnormal cells.
Results:
You will get the result in few days. If you get negative then it is great. That means, there are no precancerous or existing cancerous cells in your cervix and you don’t need to undergo pap test again until your next cycle comes.
In case you are positive, don’t panic because it doesn’t exactly mean that you have cancer. Abnormal cells may find out because of other several reasons such as mild or minor inflammation, HPV, various cervical infection, lab test fault, cancer or precancer cell in some cases.
You need to get another pap test in order to confirm it in few months. Again, if you get the same result, then doctor may suggest you to go for colposcopy test, whereby he will use light and magnification to view vaginal and cervical tissues more precisely. In few cases, they may also take a sample of your cervical tissue in a process known as biopsy.
Our doctor will guide you for the further process, you don’t need to panic and dwell on it. Consult with our doctor to get to know about this. Stay tuned!