Pap smear recommendations 2012 - Research Paper Example

College Pap Smear Recommendations The easiest female cancer to prevent is the cervical cancer with the regular screening test and making some follow ups. The two identified screening test can find cancer at an early stage or help prevent it. The Pap smear searches precancers, changes on the cervix cells that may develop cervical cancer if they are not appropriately treated. The HPV test (human papillomavirus) which looks for the virus that may cause the cell changes is the second screening test for cervical cancer (Domino, p, 23).

At the time of the Pap test, the doctor uses a plastic or a metallic instrument known as speculum for widening the vagina. This helps the doctor in examining the cervix and the vagina. It collects some cells and some mucus from the cervix and the surrounding area and then the cells are placed in a bottle of liquid or on a slide. The collected cells are then sent to a laboratory so as to be checked whether they are normal. At the same time, the doctor can as well carry out a pelvic exam by checking the woman’s ovaries, uterus plus the other organs to ensure that there are no problems with them.

The Pap test which screens for cervical cancer may be one of the best and reliable available cancer screening tests (Bartlett, p, 34)The Pap test only screens for cervical cancer while it does not screen for uterine, ovarian, valve or vaginal cancers. It can take up to three weeks before a woman receive her Pap test results. If anything abnormal is observed, the doctor can conduct the associated and finger out the best way of making the follow up. If the pap test are not normal, this does not mean that she has cancer but if the tests show that the test is not normal and may result to cancer, the doctor can advice the woman on the measures taken for its treatment so as to prevent it from developing.

It is the best option for a woman to make follow ups with her doctor to learn more about her test results and the treatment that may be required.Women should get pap tests after every three years at the ages of between 21 and 29 years. For women of 30 years and above who had three normal pap tests each year may be tested less often for every two or three years. The combination of the Pap test and the HPV is the most preferred plan for women over thirty years.Screening is on the other hand not preferred for women of age 65 or older who have had the Pap test three times in a row and have been found with no pap abnormality tests for the last ten tears.

Women with the normal Pap test result and a positive HPV test result should receive a gene test known as genotyping that determines whether they have the HPV 18 and 16 types which are known to cause the greater percentage of cervical cancer. The vaccinated women against HPV should begin their screening on the cervical cancer at the same age as women at 21 years who are nit vaccinated. The pap smear recommendations has it that women should get a regular pap test beginning the age of 21 or after whenever they become sexually active (Bartlett, p, 34).

Works citedBartlett, John G, Paul G. Auwaerter, and Paul A. Pham. Johns Hopkins Abx Guide: Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases. Burlington, MA: Jones and Bartlett Learning, 2012. Internet resource.Domino, Frank J, and Robert A. Baldor. The 5-Minute Clinical Consult 2012. Philadelphia, Pa: Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2012. Print.Esherick, Joseph S, Daniel S. Clark, and Evan D. Slater. Current Practice Guidelines in Primary Care 2012. New York: McGraw-Hill Medical, 2012. Print.Skidmore-Roth, Linda.

Mosbys 2012 Nursing Drug Reference. St. Louis, Mo: Elsevier/Mosby, 2012. Internet resource.