Some important Pap test infomation

Some important Pap test information as you prepare for your annual exam.

For women without risk factors, we follow the guidelines established by the eCzech OB.GYN. Society. 

Certain risk factors may influence the decision to do more frequent pap tests: 

Intercourse before age 16, more than 5 lifetime partners, infrequent pap tests, abnormal pap tests, a history of sexually transmitted infection, HPV, HIV, certain cancers, immunosupression or exposure to DES.
If you have had a hysterectomy, speak to your provider about the need for continuing pap tests. 

What is a Pap test? What is the difference between a Pap test and an HPV DNA test? 

A Pap test is the standard way to see if there are any cell changes that you should be concerned about. The Pap test looks at a sample of cells from the cervix under a microscope to see if there are any abnormal cells. It is a very good test for finding not only cervical cancer cells but also cells that might become cancer cells. Usually health care providers do the Pap test as part of a pelvic exam. An HPV DNA test checks directly for high-risk HPV viruses. For both the Pap test and HPV DNA test, a small soft brush is used to collect cervical cells that are sent to a laboratory. 

What is HPV? 

HPV is short for human papillomavirus. An HPV infection is usually harmless and temporary: most people with HPV will never know they are infected because the virus usually goes away on its own. There are many types of this common virus, and only a few “high-risk” types can lead to cervical cancer. These high- risk HPV types are spread through sexual contact. There are also “low-risk” types of HPV that can cause genital or anal warts (and very rarely, oral warts), but do not cause cancer. HPV infection is very common in younger women. In most women under the age of 30, the virus will go away before it causes any significant cell changes or symptoms. If high-risk HPV types do not go away on their own, they may progress to abnormal precancerous cells. If these abnormal cells are not found and treated, they may become cancer over time. Most cell changes return to normal by themselves or simply die without progressing to cancerous lesions. 

Is the HPV DNA test covered by insurance? 

The screening HPV DNA test is usually covered by insurance. Please check with your own insurance company to see if the HPV DNA screening test is a covered expense for you.