M aybe you had a bad experience with your last Pap smear and you’re wary of going back to the ob-gyn. Or maybe you’ve never had one before and are scared to make the appointment. It’s ...

A Pap smear involves collecting a sample from the cervix to test for abnormal cells that are cancerous or could lead to cervical cancer. The procedure typically only lasts for a minute, if that.

Despite the Pap smear’s effectiveness, the drop in cervical cancer deaths has leveled off since 2008. In the United States, about 11,500 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer each year, and ...

When a Pap smear indicates inflammation, it means that the cervical cells appear irritated. This doesn’t automatically point to cancer but can result from a number of benign or infectious causes.

The Food and Drug Administration has approved the first at-home screening test for cervical cancer, the product’s maker announced. The test could serve as an alternative for in-person “Pap ...

If your Pap smear results are unclear, your doctor might suggest an HPV test. The HPV test doesn't detect cancer, but can tell whether you have the virus that can cause it.

Since its introduction more than 80 years ago, the Pap smear is estimated to have prevented hundreds of thousands of cervical cancer deaths. And in 2006, a vaccine against HPV became available in ...

HPV screening — rather than a pap smear — is more effective at detecting cervical cancer, according to a US task force Kimberlee Speakman is a digital writer at PEOPLE. She has been working at ...

A Pap smear looks for abnormal cells that could indicate cancer down the line. arcyto - stock.adobe.com. The primary cause for cervical cancer is the human papillomavirus.

Rising cancer rates among people under 50 05:16. Alternatives to the often dreaded pap smear may be on the horizon for cervical cancer screenings.. Typically, the procedure involves inserting a ...