Cervical cancer is one of the most common causes of cancer death in women. Cervical cancer screening is an important part of women’s health care. So, how often should women be screened for cervical cancer?
Why is cervical cancer screening important?
Cervical cancer occurs when cervical cells become abnormal and grow out of control. Over time, cancer cells invade deeper into cervical tissue, even spreading to other organs in the body.
Cervical cancer screening are tests used to find abnormal changes in cervical cells that can lead to cancer. Typically, it takes 3 to 7 years for high-grade changes in cervical cells to become cancerous. Cervical cancer screening helps detect these changes before they become cancerous. Sometimes, cancer is discovered during screening. Cervical cancer detected in its early stages is often easier to treat and more likely to cure.
Cervical cancer screening helps save many lives. Very few people who are routinely screened for cervical cancer develop cervical cancer. Screening helps detect changes in the cervix early, reducing the risk of death from cervical cancer. Most women should be screened for cervical cancer regularly. So, how often should you be screened for cervical cancer?
How often to screen for cervical cancer?
Cervical cancer screening includes a cervical cytology test (also called a Pap test or Pap smear), a human papillomavirus ( HPV ) test, or both. According to the American Cancer Society, how often you should be screened for cervical cancer and what tests you need will depend on your age and health history.
You should start your first screening at age 21, regardless of whether you have had sex or not. So, how often should you screen for cervical cancer?
- Women 21 to 29 years old: Pap test every 3 years . Doctors may consider ordering an HPV test for women between 25 and 29 years old, but the Pap test is still preferred.
- Women from 30 to 65 years old can have 3 options as follows:
- Get tested for HPV every 5 years
- Pap test every 3 years
- Get Pap and HPV tests at the same time every 5 years.
Why is cervical cancer screening still recommended even before having sex?
In rare cases, the HPV virus ( the main cause of cervical cancer) can be spread through genital contact without having sex.
Additionally, although HPV is the main cause of cervical cancer, it is not the only cause. Other factors, such as smoking and HIV infection, can increase the risk of HPV infection and developing cervical cancer.
How often should cervical cancer screening be performed for people under 21 years old?
According to recommendations, even if you have had sex, you do not need a Pap test before age 21. Because cervical cancer is extremely rare in people under 21 years of age. According to statistics, only 1 in 1,000 cases of cervical cancer occur in young women between 15 and 19 years old.
Most women get HPV soon after they start having vaginal sex. However, this infection almost always clears up on its own within 1 to 2 years without causing any changes in cervical cells. If there are changes, the cells almost always return to normal and are less likely to become cancerous in young women.
Why shouldn’t screening be done every year?
When you understand how often to screen for cervical cancer, you will also wonder whether you should screen every year or not? Research over the past decades has shown no clear distinct benefit to getting a Pap test every year compared to getting a Pap test every 3 years.
Women screened annually undergo more tests and treatments for non-cancer cases than women screened every 3 years.
Some tests, such as cervical screening and biopsy , and treatments, such as loop electrosurgical excision (LEEP) and cone resection, are invasive procedures that can cause difficulty. bear. Unnecessary testing or treatment is inconvenient and causes undue anxiety. Limiting the number of these unnecessary procedures is one of the goals of current cervical cancer screening guidelines.
These subjects should be screened for cervical cancer more often
How often to screen for cervical cancer? Your doctor may prescribe more frequent screening if you belong to the following groups:
- Have a family history of cervical cancer
- Have a weakened immune system due to HIV infection, organ transplant, or long-term steroid use
- Prenatal exposure to diethylstilbestrol (DES), which was prescribed to some pregnant women in the mid-1970s
- Have had recent abnormal test or biopsy results .
How often should I be screened for cervical cancer if my cervix has been removed?
People who have had a total hysterectomy (removal of both the uterus and cervix) for reasons unrelated to cancer should stop being screened. However, the following individuals should continue to have regular cervical cancer screening as recommended:
- People who have had a hysterectomy to treat cervical cancer and/or have serious pre-cancers
- People who only have the uterus removed without removing the cervix (called partial or supracervical resection).
If you have a history of cervical cancer or high-grade cervical cell changes, you should continue to have screening for 20 years after surgery.
How often should cervical cancer screening be performed for people over 65 years old?
If you’re over 65, talk to your doctor to see if you need another screening.
Women should stop being screened for cervical cancer after age 65 if:
- Have had at least 3 Pap tests or 2 HPV tests within the past 10 years and the test results were normal or negative. The most recent test must have been performed within the last 3 or 5 years, depending on the type of test.
- Never had cervical pre-cancer before.
- Had your cervix removed as part of a total hysterectomy to treat non-cancerous conditions, such as uterine fibroids.
However, if you have recent test results that are abnormal or you are not screened regularly, you may need to continue screening after age 65. If you have a history of serious precancerous disease, you should continue to be tested for at least 25 years after the condition was discovered, even if you are over 65 years old.
Other things to keep in mind when doing screening
Cervical screening can be beneficial, but like any other screening test, it carries certain risks. Before having any screening test, discuss the potential benefits and risks with your doctor.
Potential risks of harm from cervical cancer screening include: overdiagnosis and treatment, false positive results, false negative results. For some women, treating abnormal cells can cause problems such as bleeding or infection. If you need to remove more cervical tissue than usual and then become pregnant in the future, the risk of giving birth early (premature birth) is increased, and even the risk of miscarriage.
HPV vaccination is an important way to help protect against the HPV infections that most commonly cause cervical cancer. However, the HPV vaccine does not protect against all types of HPV that can cause cancer. Therefore, women who have been vaccinated against HPV still need to follow the cervical cancer screening recommendations for their age group.
In addition to getting screened, you still need to pay attention to any unusual changes in your body such as abnormal bleeding (such as bleeding between periods), unpleasant-smelling vaginal discharge, and pain during sex. sex. See your doctor right away if you notice anything unusual to get a diagnosis and treatment if needed.
