Pap Smear – What You Need To Know

By
Mary Salazar
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5Possible Risks of a Pap Smear

A pap smear is generally a safe and effective procedure to screen for cervical cancer. Nevertheless, it is possible to have false-negative results. This means that the test suggests no problems even when you do have some abnormal cells. Several factors may lead to this problem, such as inflammatory or blood cells affecting abnormal cells, the small number of abnormal cells, or a bad sample. Also, there is a risk that the test cannot detect abnormal cells even when they are present. This may allow cancerous cells to grow, which may take a few years. And the next pap smear may be positive when the number of cancerous cells are more. [8]

Cancer Prevention Tips

People take a pap smear to detect cervical cancer early. To reduce the risk, you can take several preventive measures:

– Vaccination: Those women who are younger than 45 years old may get vaccinated for HPV and reduce the risk of cervical cancer.

– Annual exam: Visit your doctor regularly to detect any abnormal symptoms.

– Practice safe sex: HPV and STIs can be spread during sex. Therefore, make sure to use condoms and practice other safety measures. [9]

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