How a Pap Smear Can Save Your Life

Cervical cancer is a silent threat that doesn’t often show symptoms in its early stages. Left untreated, though, cervical cancer can become invasive. The American Cancer Society estimates over 13,000 women will be diagnosed with invasive cervical cancer in 2025.

Yet, it’s one of the most preventable and treatable forms of cancer, thanks to a simple test: the Papanicolaou test, or as it’s more commonly called, a Pap smear.

The expert team at Select Family Practice and Urgent Care in Raleigh, North Carolina, wants to take a moment to explain how this routine screening — often performed during your well-woman exam — can protect your health and even save your life.

What’s a Pap smear?

A Pap smear is a quick, minimally invasive procedure to screen for signs of cervical cancer. During your Pap smear, our team uses a special brush to collect cells from your cervix to check for abnormalities. The test detects:

• Precancerous changes
• Cancerous cells 
• Human papillomavirus (HPV), the virus responsible for most cervical cancers

This test is often part of your routine pelvic exam.

How Pap smears can save your life

A Pap smear can save your life in a few ways:

Pap smears allow for early detection of precancerous changes

Most cervical cancers begin as small, slow-growing cell changes. A Pap smear identifies these changes so our team can intervene before they progress into cancer. Thanks to Pap smears, more precancerous changes are diagnosed than invasive cervical cancers. 

Pap smears can detect cervical cancer during highly treatable stages

If cervical cancer is caught early through a Pap smear, treatment options like surgery or localized therapies can lead to high survival rates. 

The five-year survival rate for women diagnosed with early-stage cervical cancer is 91%, but that figure plummets to 19% once the cancer spreads to a distant part of the body. 

Co-testing can reveal your risk of cervical cancer

If you’re age 30-65, you may need a combined Pap smear with an HPV test. That’s called a co-test and can further pinpoint your future risks.

Many cases of cervical cancer are linked to high-risk strains of HPV. There are 12 high-risk HPV strains, but strains 16 and 18 are the ones most responsible for HPV-related cervical cancers.

Testing positive for one of these strains doesn’t mean you necessarily develop cervical cancer. But it does mean that more frequent testing can spot changes should they develop.

Are you ready for a Pap smear?

As family care providers, we recommend the screening schedule right for you based on your health history, current symptoms, past Pap smear results, age, and any other risk factors.

In general, we recommend Pap smears: 

• Every three years for women ages 21-65 
• Every five years for women after age 30 if combined with HPV testing 
• On a more frequent testing schedule for women with certain risk factors, like a weakened immune system or a history of abnormal results

Even if you've had the HPV vaccine, you should still schedule your Pap smear. Screenings are essential to detect non-HPV-related abnormalities or changes the vaccine doesn’t cover.

Signs you shouldn’t ignore

While Pap smears often catch abnormalities before symptoms occur, contact us if you notice any of these red flags:

• Unusual vaginal bleeding, especially after intercourse
• Pain during intercourse
• Persistent pelvic pain
• Unexplained discharge

Whether you’re due for a routine screening or have questions about your cervical health, our expert team can guide you every step of the way. To schedule your Pap smear, call our office or request an appointment online today.