Cervical Cancer Q&A (continued)

What is a Pap test?
During a Pap test, a health provider wipes a tiny brush on the cervix to take a sample of cells. The sample of cells is then checked under a microscope. A Pap test takes only a few seconds.

Who needs a Pap test?
- Women age 18 and older.
- Women younger than age 18 if they are, or have been, sexually active.

Women who have gone through menopause may still need to get a Pap test. Women who have had a hysterectomy should talk to their doctors about their need to get a Pap test.

How do I get ready for a Pap test?
You should not have a Pap test during your period. You should not douche or use vaginal creams, jellies or foams for two days before your Pap test, unless your doctor tells you to use them. If you feel more comfortable being examined by a female health care provider, you can ask if one is available.

Medicare helps pay for a screening Pap test once every two years and may pay more often if necessary.

How do you treat cervical cancer?
If your health care professional finds precancerous changes in your cervix that may lead to cancer, they may destroy the harmful cells with extreme cold (called cryotherapy) or extreme heat (called electro-surgical excision or LEEP). They can also remove the harmful cells with lasers or surgery.

If cervical cancer is found, doctors use surgery, radiation and/or chemotherapy to treat it. Your treatment options depend on how far along the cancer is.

What are my chances of surviving cervical cancer?
Proper treatment can stop nearly all cervical cancer that remains in the cervix. Nearly nine out of 10 women (89 percent) who have cervical cancer spreading beyond the cervix survive one year after cancer is found. Seven out of 10 women (70 percent) survive five years.

Treatment of early cancer that has not spread outside the cervix is very effective. Nine out of 10 women (91 percent) survive at least five years.

Pap tests are extremely good at finding cervical cancer early. As more and more women have Pap tests, health care professionals have found many more cancers in the early stages than the late stages.