{"id":111,"date":"2017-05-06T12:19:39","date_gmt":"2017-05-06T12:19:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/avignadiagnostics.com\/creating-clarity\/?p=111"},"modified":"2024-04-26T12:16:09","modified_gmt":"2024-04-26T12:16:09","slug":"the-pap-smear-test","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/avignadiagnostics.com\/creating-clarity\/the-pap-smear-test\/","title":{"rendered":"The Pap Smear Test"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pap smear or Papanicolaou test is for the prevention, screening, and early detection of cervical cancer. Abnormal Pap smear result may\u00a0indicate cervical cancer.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

Why should I have a pap smear?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The only way to know about cervical changes is to do a Pap test. A Pap test can find cervical problems early, when they are easier to treat.<\/p>\n

How Pap test is done?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Pap test is a procedure to collect cells from cervix and read under microscope.<\/p>\n

First cervix is exposed; with help of spatula, cells from ectocervix are scrapped. Then a small brush or a cotton tipped swab is inserted into the opening of cervix and endocervical cells are scraped.<\/p>\n

How often should I get tested?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

All women should begin cervical cancer testing (screening) at age 21. Women aged 21 to 29, should have a Pap test every 3 years. HPV testing should not be used for screening in this age group (it may be used as a part of follow-up for an abnormal Pap test).<\/p>\n

Another option for women 30 to 65 is to get tested every 3 years with just the Pap test.<\/p>\n

Women who are at high risk of cervical cancer because of a suppressed immune system (for example from HIV infection, organ transplant, long-term steroid use) or exposed to DES may need to be screened more often.<\/p>\n

Women who have had a total hysterectomy (removal of the uterus and cervix) should stop screening unless the hysterectomy was done as a treatment for cervical pre-cancer or cancer. Women who have had a hysterectomy without removal of the cervix (called a supra-cervical hysterectomy) should continue cervical cancer screening accordingly.<\/p>\n

Although annual (every year) screening should not be done, women who have abnormal screening results may need to have a follow-up Pap test done in 6 months or a year.<\/p>\n

What are risk factors for cervical cancer?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
    \n
  1. HPV infection<\/li>\n
  2. Smoking.<\/li>\n
  3. Weakened immune system.<\/li>\n
  4. Chlamydia infection.<\/li>\n
  5. Being overweight.<\/li>\n
  6. Long term use of oral contraceptives.<\/li>\n
  7. IUD use.<\/li>\n
  8. Multiple full-term pregnancies.<\/li>\n
  9. Being younger than 17 at first full term pregnancy.<\/li>\n
  10. Low economic status.<\/li>\n
  11. Hormonal therapy.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    What cells are read and studied under microscope?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
      \n
    • The part of the cervix closest to the body of the uterus is called the endocervix and is covered with glandular cells.<\/li>\n
    • The part next to the vagina is the ectocervix and is covered in squamous cells.<\/li>\n
    • These two cell types meet at a place called the transformation zone. The exact location of the transformation zone changes as you age and if you give birth.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      Cells in ectocervix and endocervix are read under microscope.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Pap smear or Papanicolaou test is for the prevention, screening, and early detection of cervical cancer. Abnormal Pap smear result…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":112,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"image","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[117,114,112,115,116,111,113,118],"class_list":["post-111","post","type-post","status-publish","format-image","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-diseases","tag-how-pap-test-is-done","tag-pap-smear","tag-pap-smear-pap-test","tag-pap-test","tag-the-pap-papanicolaou-test","tag-the-pap-smear-test","tag-what-is-a-pap-test","tag-why-should-i-have-a-pap-smear","post_format-post-format-image"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/avignadiagnostics.com\/creating-clarity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/avignadiagnostics.com\/creating-clarity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/avignadiagnostics.com\/creating-clarity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/avignadiagnostics.com\/creating-clarity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/avignadiagnostics.com\/creating-clarity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=111"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/avignadiagnostics.com\/creating-clarity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":116,"href":"http:\/\/avignadiagnostics.com\/creating-clarity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111\/revisions\/116"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/avignadiagnostics.com\/creating-clarity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/112"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/avignadiagnostics.com\/creating-clarity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=111"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/avignadiagnostics.com\/creating-clarity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=111"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/avignadiagnostics.com\/creating-clarity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=111"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}