Cervical cancer is the most preventable type of cancer and because women have become more aware about their health risks, increased use of prevention methods have significantly reduced cervical cancer incidence in the last decades. Prevention methods for cervical cancer include Pap screenings and HPV vaccination. These give patients or suspected patients a 100% chance for curing the cancer or precancerous conditions, as well as to boost the immune system. Furthermore, vaccines like Gardasil and Cervarix also kill HPV strains 16 and 18 even before they can cause any abnormality in the cervix.

Thanks to all the public awareness campaigns, these methods have become part of the lives of most women in the US. Unfortunately, such campaigns are less useful though just as effective in developing countries where prevention methods are hardly accessible or affordable for most of the women.



So let's get back to basics and see what exactly is screening. Screening means looking for cancer before a person has any symptoms and can detect any precancerous abnormalities or cancer in an early stage.

We all know staging is what determines the best treatments plan and the general prognosis. Doctors are now trying to determine the exact risk factors for every type of cancer so that they can recommend different kinds of screening for different people. It's not really necessary or possible for that matter to get regular screenings for all cancers.

In the case of cervical cancer the risk factors which may express a need for screening include HPV infections, giving birth to many children, multiple sex partners, becoming sexually active at an early age, smoking and using oral contraceptives.



If these risks are present in your life you should really get regular Pap screenings. If a screening test result is abnormal, you may need to  have other specialized  tests done to find out if you have cancer, also called diagnostic tests.


The Papanicolau test is the standard screening procedure for cervical cancer. This procedure consist in collecting cells from the surface of the cervix and from the vagina. It is done with the help of a brush or a small stick which scrape the cells and then smear them on a lens and study them under a microscope.

This can tell a cytologist if there are any abnormalities present. Also called a Pap smear, this procedure is non invasive and can be performed in the doctor's office. There are constant improvements done to this procedure, and today, they place the tissue in liquid before studying it, for a more accurate detection.

However there are some risks of Pap screenings you should be aware of. These include: false-negative test results and false-positive test results. This is why we should always remain on the look out for any risks and signs of a disease developing.