Cervical Cancer Prevention - The Pap Smear

Jump to a section

• 0:03Introduction
• 0:25What a Pap smear is
• 0:49Lab results and HPV testing
• 1:34Abnormal results
• 2:21False positives
• 3:06Tips for comfort

Full transcript

1. 0:03Introduction

   Hi, I'm Dr. Taz Varkey. In my last two videos I talked about high-risk HPV, how it causes cervical cancer, and things you can do to keep from getting HPV. Today I'm going to teach you all about the Pap smear, and just to entice you to stay tuned, at the end of the video I'm going to give you three tips to help you make the Pap smear a little less uncomfortable.

2. 0:25What a Pap smear is

   So the Pap smear is basically just a swab of cervical cells that is obtained after your doctor inserts a speculum into the vagina and gently opens it up. This part of the exam should only take about 10 to 30 seconds. Once the cells are obtained, the speculum is quickly removed and the cells are put into a little jar that contains a preservative, and the jar is then sent off to a laboratory.

3. 0:49Lab results and HPV testing

   The technicians or doctors in the lab then take a look at the cells under a microscope to determine if any of them look abnormal. This can be an indicator of possible precancerous cells back on the cervix itself, and that's why the Pap smear is important. Depending on the actual Pap smear results, many doctors will also request that the lab checks for high-risk HPV, because if you remember from my last HPV video, the only way a patient can get cervical cancer is through infection with high-risk HPV.

4. 1:12

   So the presence or absence of the HPV virus will help the doctor know if the abnormal cells on the Pap smear were a false positive or not.

5. 1:34Abnormal results

   If the doctor gets a report back that the cells are abnormal and high-risk HPV is present, it's important that the patient is then seen by a gynecologist for further discussion and possible examination with something called a colposcope. I'll teach you about the colposcope and the procedure that's involved with it in my next video.

6. 1:57

   So for now just understand that the Pap smear is a simple test of your cervical cells that will help give doctors an idea of who might need further examination of their cervix to make sure there's no precancerous cells present. It's very important to understand many patients with an abnormal Pap smear do not have precancerous cells on their cervix, but rather just some mildly atypical cells due to a temporary HPV infection that their body is busy fighting off.

7. 2:21False positives

   It's also possible that the Pap smear is falsely read as abnormal. This is called a false positive, and it occurs about three to five percent of the time with Pap smears. Bottom line, please try not to panic if you're told you have an abnormal Pap smear.

8. 2:43

   Most of these abnormal cells will resolve on their own, but if they don't, seeing your gynecologist regularly will help them to watch it and catch it before it progresses to cancer many years later. So now the three tips I promised you to make the Pap smear an easier experience.

9. 3:06Tips for comfort

   One, tell your gynecologist that you're nervous and ask them to go slowly when inserting the speculum. I always touch the speculum to the outside of the patient's skin first so that they know I'm there. Next, let your knees fall apart as far as you can. This will open up the vaginal opening a little bit more and make it easier to insert the speculum.

10. 3:30

    And lastly, don't clench your bottom up in anticipation. This will only overtighten your vaginal muscles, which will force the doctor to push more to insert the speculum, and then it becomes a vicious cycle where the doctors try to push the speculum in and the patient is trying to keep it, and you can imagine how that would make things uncomfortable.

11. 3:51

    So my advice is to focus on relaxing the area as much as you can, and then things should go smoothly. Well, I think this is as much as I can share today on the Pap smear. As always, there's much more to be taught and learned about this subject, so ask your doctor if you have more questions. Thanks for tuning in, and don't forget to subscribe.