The Pap Smear Question

Okay so I was thinking... why is it that there is a discrepency about womens health care between the US and UK?  So I thought I would do a bit of searching and I stumbled upon this website nugget:


"How often should a woman have a Pap test?
Women should talk with their clinician about when and how often they should have a Pap test. Current general guidelines recommend that women have a Pap test at least once every 3 years, beginning about 3 years after they begin to have sexual intercourse, but no later than age 21. Experts recommend waiting about 3 years after the start of sexual activity to avoid overtreatment for common, temporary abnormal changes. It is safe to wait 3 years, because cervical cancer usually develops slowly. Cervical cancer is extremely rare in women under age 25.

Women ages 65 to 70 who have had at least three normal Pap tests and no abnormal Pap tests in the last 10 years may decide, after talking with their clinician, to stop having Pap tests. Women who have had a hysterectomy (surgery to remove the uterus and cervix) do not need to have a Pap test, unless the surgery was done as a treatment for precancer or cancer."

This is not from a UK site, but from the National  Cancer Institute in the USA.  So even they recommend a pap every three years.  So why do some many physicians in the US recommend paps every year?   

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Yup.

And just as an aside, in the UK, you don't hear Pap used. It's just called a smear.

What bugs me is that there is no breast exam, no teaching of breast exams, and no checking of the ovaries which I always had in the US at the same time as the smear.

$$$$$$$$

ding ding ding ding ding!!!!!

Of course now I am so used to getting them every year I want one every year anyway!

Thanks vnicepeeps for the information. I have always gone each year for my pap smear and breast exam. I also think they should do breast exams here or at least educate women more on the subject as they do in the USA.

The guidelines in the US have only just changed (like in the last year or so) to every three years, they used to recommend once a year so it's possible that the docs aren't up to date yet and that's all it is. 

The guidelines in the US have only just changed (like in the last year or so) to every three years, they used to recommend once a year so it's possible that the docs aren't up to date yet and that's all it is.

Wow!!!  I had no idea!  I'll have to ask my friends.

They say now something like, if you have had "clean" paps for x number of years you're good for three years now.

has anyone heard that there  is a certain  day or days of your cycle you need  to book your 'smear' for?? my surgery  said something like  day 1 2-14..  or something like that... is that  anyone's experience??

has anyone heard that there  is a certain  day or days of your cycle you need  to book your 'smear' for?? my surgery  said something like  day 1 2-14..  or something like that... is that  anyone's experience??

They like mid-cycle.  So whatever that is for you.  (It's different for everyone though most assume it's 28 for everyone)

Call on the first day of your period and book the smear for two weeks later.

I just get an appt card in the mail from my surgery. They never asked about my cycle.

I got a reminder card in the mail from NHS, even though I had a smear before I  moved over this summer. 

Though I agree if you have no prior family history with problems or have had a normal smear for at least 5 years you should only go every three, I don't however agree with the three year rule.

I have been going for a smear since I was 17 and never had a problem until 2002. I had to have minor surgery when I came over here due to that problem. If it had been 3 years later, I would have possibly had severe problems.

I was told to come back every year from that point on.

I know it is about money in the US but considering the rise in women's cancer, I can see why. Just my two cents

Though I agree if you have no prior family history with problems or have had a normal smear for at least 5 years you should only go every three, I don't however agree with the three year rule.

I have been going for a smear since I was 17 and never had a problem until 2002. I had to have minor surgery when I came over here due to that problem. If it had been 3 years later, I would have possibly had severe problems.

I was told to come back every year from that point on.

I know it is about money in the US but considering the rise in women's cancer, I can see why. Just my two cents

Same here, haunted.  Especially as nearly ALL cases of cervical dysplasia are a result of having HPV, which is so common the majority of all those who have been sexually active have at least one strain of it.  It can lie dormant for years or even your entire life.  There is no cure and currently no vaccine for it.  Yet it is responsible for 95%+ of all cervical cancers. 

I had twelve normal, annual paps.  Then one showing CIN II or moderate dysplasia.  This was confirmed by colposcopy and treated with LEEP.  I had no children at the time.  I realise cervical cancer is very slow growing, but I cringe to imagine what may have happened if mine had not been caught - as it lay near the endocervical canal.  Thin prep Pap smears are much cheaper than treating someone for cervical cancer. 

Actress Brooke Shields' infertility was caused by dysplasia in her endocervical canal.  It was detected by a yearly smear and treated with cone biopsy, which unfortunately scarred her cervix so that sperm cannot pass and she needed IVF to conceive.