The Pap smear, or Pap test, is named after George Nicholas Papanicolaou, who developed it in 1943 to detect the presence of abnormal cells on a woman’s cervix (i.e., the opening to her uterus). When doctors detect these abnormalities early enough, they can treat cervical cancer when it’s most likely to be cured.
The Pap smear has become the gold standard for keeping women safe and increasing the cure rate for cervical cancer. The Pap smear is one of the main reasons why cervical cancer rates dipped from their high of 24-37 cases per 100,000 women in the early 1900s to just 7.5 cases per 100,000 women by 2008. These routine screenings can catch early, potentially cancerous changes, often allowing doctors to prevent cervical cancer altogether.
Compassionate, expert gynecologist, Sonia Enriquez, MD, provides Pap smears
during well-woman exams at Lake Mary Gynecology in Lake Mary, Florida, depending on your age, sexual activity, and date of your last Pap smear. Sometimes, though rarely, the results come back “positive,” which means that the lab detected abnormal cells.
As with COVID tests and all tests, sometimes a Pap smear gives a false positive. After an abnormal Pap smear, Dr. Enriquez advises that you undergo a simple procedure called colposcopy to investigate further.
While you lie back on the examination table with your feet in the stirrups — just as you do for a Pap smear — Dr. Enriquez inserts a speculum and dilates your cervix. She then looks through a special set of high-powered binoculars on a crane called a colposcope. The colposcope magnifies your cervix so that she can detect any abnormal tissue.
She may then brush your cervix with a solution that helps her detect the presence of abnormal cells. If she suspects abnormalities, she administers an anesthetic and takes a biopsy (i.e., removes a small amount of tissue) that she sends to the lab for analysis.
Depending on the type of cells that the lab detected on your Pap smear, Dr. Enriquez may also suggest taking a test for the human papilloma virus (HPV). While you’re in the stirrups, she simply takes another swab, as she did for the Pap smear, and sends it to the lab to find out if HPV is present.
An infection with HPV is the primary cause of cervical cancer. However, not all HPV infections lead to cervical cancer. Certain strains of HPV are likelier to lead to longer-term, riskier infections than others. Though your body may be able to fight off an HPV infection on its own, careful monitoring ensures you receive any necessary treatment when you need it.
Even if Dr. Enriquez didn’t have to take a biopsy, you may still feel a little crampy after your colposcopy. It’s normal to spot, too. You can take over-the-counter painkillers to stay comfortable and wear a menstrual pad to absorb any spotting.
If you’ve had a biopsy, it’s important to abstain from sex for about a week. Also, don’t use a tampon or douche after your procedure.
In addition to keeping yourself physically comfortable, be sure to take care of yourself emotionally, too. It can be frightening to hear that you’ve had abnormal results and to have to wait for further test results. Talk to your friends, family, or a counselor. We’re also happy to answer any questions you may have.
In most cases, the colposcopy and HPV Test come back negative, which means that you don’t have cancer. However, if you do have cervical cancer, you can rest assured that it was caught at an early stage and that with treatment you should make a full recovery.
Cervical cancer is a slow-growing cancer, which is why you only need to take a Pap test every three years, as long as you’ve never had abnormal results.
If you’d like to schedule a Pap smear, or if you’ve had abnormal Pap smear results and want to schedule a colposcopy, phone our helpful staff today or book an appointment with our convenient online form.
