Essential Health Screenings All Women Should Have Done

Pap Smear

Over the past fifty years, the death rate from cervical cancer has declined by more than seventy-four percent thanks to regular screening. A Pap smear entails a swab of cells from a woman's cervix. Typically, a woman's first Pap smear should be when they reach twenty-one years old, roughly, or when they become sexually active. Women should undergo Pap smears once every three years up until they turn thirty years old. After this point, the American Cancer Society states women between thirty and sixty-five years old can have a Pap smear once every five years provided they are tested for the human papillomavirus at the same time. After a woman reaches sixty-five years old, they no longer require the test provided they do not have serious risk factors for cervical cancer and if their past Pap smears have come back normal. Women who receive abnormal tests will typically need to undergo another Pap smear immediately, and anyone whose test comes back with indicators of cervical cancer will need to discuss the appropriate course of action with their doctor.

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