Archive for the 'Pap Smear' Category

According to the US National Cancer Institute, about 12000 women are with cervical cancer.

In the United States, cervical cancer is the 8th most common gynecologic cancers.

Pap smear test - the only screening test for cervical cancer - is recommended for all women to detect any abnormal changes to the cells of the cervix, the lower part of the uterus.

Pap smear test, also known as Pap test or cervical test, is a medical screening test to detect the early stages of cancer of the cervix.

It is only a screening tool and not a diagnosing procedure. In other words, the test cannot diagnose cervical cancer completely. The test is best and efficient to prevent cervical cancer.

How Pap test is conducted?

The Pap smear test is quick and simple process in which speculum, a small instrument, is inserted into the vagina to spread the vaginal walls so as to make the cervix more visible.

Using a small brush, the cells of the cervix are collected and spread onto a glass slide. The cell sample glass slide will be sent to the laboratory for examination under a microscope.

Abnormal Pap smear occurs when pre-cancerous or cancerous cells are identified.

Pap smear is also known as a cervical cytology-screening test.

A Pap smear is a simple, fast, and relatively painless medical procedure to determine the signs of cervix cancer.

The cervix is the lower, narrow portion of the uterus where it joins with the top end of the vagina.

Trained health care professionals perform this test. For a pap smear, a sample of cells from cervix is collected and examined microscopically to determine if you have cervical cancer or if you are at risk of developing cervical cancer.

A negative Pap smear means that your results are normal. A positive Pap smear means that your results are abnormal. An abnormal Pap smear can be a sign of a number of changes in the cells on your cervix.

The changes in the cell are classified as

ASC:It stands for Atypical Squamous Cells. These squamous cells usually form on the surface of your cervix. However, ASC is divided into two categories: ASC-US and ASC-H

Abnormal Pap smear resulting ASC-US indicates that some of your cervix cells are abnormal. Although some cells are abnormal, your doctor may not understand the reason for the changes in the cells or its impact on you.

A Pap smear is also known as a pap test. It is a simple procedure to check for signs of cancer of cervix.

The cervix is the lower, narrow portion of the uterus (womb) where it joins with the top end of the vagina (birth canal).

Doctors and other specially trained health care professionals (physician assistants, nurse practitioners) perform Pap smears.

The individuals that perform Pap smear are called clinicians and generally done in a clinic or in a hospital.

With Pap smear, it is very easy to detect any infection, inflammation, abnormal cervical cells, or cervical cancer that is present in your body. The Pap smear also detects the changes in the cells of your cervix. These changes in the cervical cells are the signs of cervix cancer development.

For a Pap smear, you’ll be asked to lie down on an exam table where the clinician introduces a special instrument called a speculum into your vagina.

The insertion of speculum helps open your vagina to take a sample of cells in the region of the cervix with a wooden scraper or with a small cervical brush. The sample is then placed on a glass slide, preserved with a fixative and sent to a laboratory for a test.