A Pap test and pelvic exam are important parts of a woman’s routine health care because they can detect cancer or abnormalities that may lead to cancer of the cervix.

Early detection and treatment of abnormalities of the cervix can prevent cancer from developing.

Early detection and treatment of cervical cancer improves the chances that the treatment will be successful.

Check with your health care provider about when and how often you should have a Pap test. Current general guidelines recommend that women have a Pap test at least once every three years, beginning about three years after they begin to have sexual intercourse, but no later than age 21.

Women ages 65 to 70 who have had at least three normal Pap tests and no abnormal Pap tests in the last 10 years may decide, after talking with their health care provider, to stop having Pap tests. Women who have had a hysterectomy (surgery to remove the uterus and cervix) do not need to have a Pap test, unless the surgery was done as a treatment for pre-cancer or cancer.

Source: National Cervical Cancer Coalition, www.nccc-online.org.