New recommendations for pap smears

Posted at: 11/20/2009 8:36 PM | Updated at: 11/23/2009 9:47 AM
By: Lynette Adams | WHEC.com

Just days after a government task force changed what women have always been told about mammograms, there is new advice on pap smears.

Some women we talked to say they won't follow the new guidelines.

The new advice comes from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. The doctors now say most women can wait longer to get their first pap smear and don’t need to get one every year. The tests help detect cervical cancer.

Elizabeth Jubenbille, of Kent, says, “I will always continue to go once a year. I will continue to go. I owe it to myself and my family.”

Jubenbille says cancer runs in her family and she won’t gamble with her health.

“I lost my sister at 45 to breast cancer so I've been getting mammograms since I was 27 and pap smears as well because cancer's in my family. To me, if they catch it and it's early enough, we've got a lot more time.”

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists now says a woman can have a pap smear every two years. The old recommendation was annually. The new guidelines also say routine pap smears should begin at 21, not within three years of a woman becoming sexually active. Also, women 30 and older should wait three years between pap smears, if the last three have come back clear.

“We have to look at the data a little more closely before we decide for ourselves if it’s better, and it will be individualized based on the patient’s medical history and background,” said Doctor Wendy Dwyer, an OB-GYN practicing in Greece. “We’re hoping that we don’t miss any diagnoses of cancer, but at the same time, not be having a patient go through too many interventions that might be unnecessary both from the cost aspect as well as the patient anxiety aspect.”

Pap smears can spot pre-cancerous changes in the cervix, Dwyer says those changes may occur slowly enough to detect every two years. But women, like these St. John Fisher College students, have differing opinions.

Kelly Cook, of Greece, says, “It’s scary. They saying coming in two years, we’ll see you in two years. I like having that relationship with my gynecologist. It's better.”

Melanie Mancuso, also of Greece, says, “My mom has had the precancerous cells so that prompted me to go get tested. And my friends. If I have to wait two years to find out, that’s not a good thing for me.”

Elizabeth Doring, of Greece, says, “It depends on your own medical history. Both of them, they have cancer in the family. My family doesn’t, so my sister and my mom might feel comfortable waiting two years to do it, but it depends on how much you worry about it.”

Pap smears are credited with preventing invasive cervical cancer. In fact, the rate of cervical cancer has been cut in half in the U.S. in recent decades.

There are cases where women should have pap smears every year. Women who have HIV, other immune weakening conditions, as well as previous cervical abnormalities should have the test done every year.

For more Rochester, NY news, go to our website, www.whec.com.

 

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