During the routine procedure, cells from your cervix are gently scraped away and examined for abnormal growth. The procedure is done at your doctor’s office. It may be mildly uncomfortable, but ...

During a Pap smear the most uncomfortable part will be when the doctor inserts a speculum into your vagina. However, the pain should be minimal and brief. Peter Dazeley/Getty Images A Pap smear is a ...

The pap smear (or pap test) is one of the cornerstones of women's health. It was introduced in the 1940's as a way to screen for abnormal cervical cells. Starting at the age of 21 women are ...

If you can’t remember when you had your last pap smear, there’s a chance you might be due for another. So how often should you get a pap smear, exactly? We asked Dr. Margo Harrison, MD, OBGYN and Head ...

Many women are likely familiar with the Pap smear, but some might not know about the HPV test (human papillomavirus test). Pap smears and HPV tests are the most common ways to detect cervical cancer, ...

An abnormal Pap smear means some percentage of your cervix cells appear abnormal in shape or size. In most cases, an abnormal Pap smear does not indicate cancer and is in fact caused by HPV. If you ...

Pap tests are one of the most familiar — and successful — cancer screening tests ever invented. Since their introduction in the 1950s, cervical cancer deaths in the US have fallen by more than 60 ...

Cervical cancer used to be the number one cause of cancer death in American women, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). But today it leads to only about 4,000 deaths per ...

A test for HPV detects precancerous changes of the cervix earlier and more accurately than the Pap smear, according to a large clinical trial published this week. The randomized, controlled study — ...

A test for HPV detects precancerous changes of the cervix earlier and more accurately than the Pap smear, according to a large clinical trial published Tuesday. The randomized, controlled study — the ...

Doctors can find it hard to diagnose cervical cancer in young women because the same symptoms, such as bleeding between periods or after sex, are common in women with genital infections or taking ...