A PAP smear should be repeated at least once every 3 years. Depending on the result, follow-up PAP smears may be required at closer intervals.

Yes. Some of the symptoms of cervical abnormalities or cancer include spotting after intercourse or in between menstrual periods and abnormal vaginal discharge, but these occur only with more advanced stages and most women with pre-cancerous lesions will not have any symptoms and feel entirely well.

Yes, as the risk of cancer increases with age, screening even after menopause is recommended. Women above the age of 50 are twice as likely than younger women to die of cervical cancer.

Yes, as the vaccine covers most but not all of the high-risk cervical cancer-causing HPV strains. HPV Vaccination

The optimal time to do a PAP smear is at least a week or more after your period has ended so as to ensure a good quality sample can be obtained.

Your doctor will use a vaginal speculum to open up your vaginal canal. A small brush will then be used to obtain a sample of cells from your cervix.

The process will take no more than a few minutes.

You may experience some slight discomfort during the PAP smear and some light spotting after.

A PAP smear detects any pre-cancerous/dysplastic or cancerous abnormalities in the cervical cells obtained in the sample.

High-risk HPV infection may precede the development of an abnormal PAP smear and this can be picked up with high risk HPV testing.

If you have a normal PAP smear but test positive for high-risk HPV infection, your doctor may advise you on a closer follow-up PAP smear or additional testing.

The PAP smear is an excellent screening tool but it is not perfect.

Occasional false negatives (i.e. a normal PAP smear) may occur even in the presence of abnormalities of the cervix.

Thankfully, most pre-cancerous lesions grow slowly and as long as you undergo your regular PAP smears, most abnormalities will be detected early.

An abnormal PAP smear does not equate cancer.

It indicates that there are abnormal cells in an area of the cervix and that more detailed evaluation of the cervix is required before a diagnosis can be made.

This may require a repeat PAP smear at a closer interval.

In some cases, depending on the abnormality detected, your doctor may refer you to a gynaecologist for a colposcopy examination.

During a colposcopy examination, a colposcope, which is an instrument with a magnifying glass, is used to examine the surface of the cervix in greater detail.

A biopsy, where additional tissue samples are obtained, may sometimes be performed as well.