It's been confirmed - no PAP for 3 years :/

bigbear

Just got my test results from the docs office and since everythig was in order and i'm in my 30s I was told I didn't need a pap for 3 years.. I'll still have the pelvic exam but no testing for HPV/PAP

I'm not ok with this.

So before 21 they don't check at all, then the next 9 years they check it yearly and then they say F it, 3 years is good enough?? Doesn't seem right to me.

I'll be speaking to my doc about this!

 

fyrefairie

https://womenshealth.gov/publications/our-publications/fact-sheet/pap-test.cfm#d

 

https://www.mayoclinic.com/health/pap-smear/MY00090/DSECTION=why-its-done

 

1. When should a woman begin cervical cancer screening, and how often should she be screened?

3. Women should talk with their doctor about when to start screening and how often to be screened. In March 2012, updated screening guidelines were released by the United States Preventive Services Task Force and jointly by the American Cancer Society, the American Society for Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology, and the American Society for Clinical Pathology. These guidelines recommend that women have their first Pap test at age 21. Although previous guidelines recommended that women have their first Pap test 3 years after they start having sexual intercourse, waiting until age 21 is now recommended because adolescents have a very low risk of cervical cancer and a high likelihood that cervical cell abnormalities will go away on their own. According to the updated guidelines, women ages 21 through 29 should be screened with a Pap test every 3 years. Women ages 30 through 65 can then be screened every 5 years with Pap and HPV cotesting or every 3 years with a Pap test alone.
4. The guidelines advise that routine Pap and HPV cotesting be limited to women age 30 and older because transient HPV infections are very common among women in their twenties. Including routine HPV testing in cervical screening of younger women would detect many infections that will be suppressed by the immune system and not lead to cancer. In older women, HPV infections are more likely to represent persistent infections?that is, infections that have the potential to progress to cervical cancer if not detected or treated. However, HPV testing can be used in women of any age to help clarify unclear Pap test findings and help doctors decide if further evaluation is needed. (See Question 9 for more information.)
5. The guidelines also note that women with certain risk factors may need to have more frequent screening or to continue screening beyond age 65. These risk factors include being infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), being immunosuppressed, having been exposed to diethylstilbestrol before birth, and having been treated for a precancerous cervical lesion or cervical cancer.
6. Women who have had a hysterectomy (surgery to remove the uterus and cervix) do not need to have cervical screening, unless the hysterectomy was done to treat a precancerous cervical lesion or cervical cancer.

Relax. There is science behind these guidelines and the ACOG even recommends Paps every 2 years (not yearly) between 21 and 30. 

eklanger

Also, depending on what your ins co covers, if you really want your doc to test, I'm sure they will.

bigbear

I don't know, call me oldschool or too paranoid. And I"m usually really not the kind and am the last person to go see a doc. I'm one of those, unless the limb is falling off, I'm not going in.

I actually think it's because of DD that I suddenly feel like I need to make sure I'm ok so i'm there for her. Thinking back, I always said I wish I didn't have to do it every year. Now I get freaked out by all the stories (a very close friend works at a cancer treatement clinic) of people finding out about their cancer way too late... Also, a former coworker of mine found out about 2 years ago (she's in her early 60s now) that she has stage 3 cancer. So I just feel like it's better to be safe than sorry....

BritanyV

bigbear:

I don't know, call me oldschool or too paranoid. And I"m usually really not the kind and am the last person to go see a doc. I'm one of those, unless the limb is falling off, I'm not going in.

I actually think it's because of DD that I suddenly feel like I need to make sure I'm ok so i'm there for her. Thinking back, I always said I wish I didn't have to do it every year. Now I get freaked out by all the stories (a very close friend works at a cancer treatement clinic) of people finding out about their cancer way too late... Also, a former coworker of mine found out about 2 years ago (she's in her early 60s now) that she has stage 3 cancer. So I just feel like it's better to be safe than sorry....

I'm with you on this!

I have heard too many stories and personally know people that found cancer at an annual pap to think these new changes are good. 

Unfortunately, it is going to take a rise in cervical cancer and deaths from cervical cancer for them to revise these new guidelines.     This is probably all from a push from the insurance companies to lower costs.

sanbry

This bothers me for the same reasons. I wouldn't want to not catch something early enough. I had some abnormal paps in my late teens but haven't had any issues in several years, but still it's on my mind.