Pap test question

Am I not understanding something here? How in the world does a woman who has no uterus receive a Pap test?!?!

http://health.yahoo.net/news/s/nm/annual-pap-tests-for-some-in-u-s-old-habits-die-hard

I think it tests cervical cancer.
 

Well. . .they scrape something! :lol3:. No, really, I don't know how they do it if the woman has no cervix.

My insurance sent a newsletter saying the same thing as that article, and they said they won't cover pap tests for women who have had full hysterectomies. So I guess there's more awareness about it now.

If you have had a total hysterectomy for a noncancerous condition, there is no need to continue with PAP tests.

However, if your hysterectomy, either total, or partartial (where they leave the cervix), PAP tests are an important part of follow-up care. For total hysterectomies, they do a PAP every 3 months for the first 2 years, then every 6 months for the next 2 years, and then yearly.  For a partial, so long as you have a cervix, you will continue to require a PAP test.

The purpose of a PAP after a total hysterectomy is to monitor for spread of cancer cells because despite not having a cervix, the cancer can still break through the skin, and a PAP will pick up abnormal cells.

zohdee said:

I think it tests cervical cancer.
 

Click to expand...

Yepper. I had a total hysterectomy (but still have a cervix) when I was 24 years old (for endometriosis) and still get a Pap test annually to test for cervical cancer. This year is the first that my GYN told me that next year I wouldn't need the Pap....he's going to start testing me every other year. I did not have cancer.