You know what I hate even worse than the pap smear? Getting your mammogram done. I hate getting my boobs squished onto a piece of glass so that they can check for cancer. Necessary, I know, but VERY uncomfortable!

psychodelicide said:

But he's supposedly gay!!

KidaDynamite said:

Gay or not, I still would have walked out on him. I would be totally creeped out if a male doctor said that to me, regardless of his sexual orientation.

I thought this was a P&R thread as Ron Paul is lower than a pap smear on approval in America.

oh christ

CarrieMpls said:

I just wouldn't be right if I didn't

Since Dr Papanicolaou developed a method for screening the cells of the cervix for pre cancerous changes the incidence of cervical cancer deaths has plummeted. With the advent of the introduction of HPV vaccines this year the PAP smear may eventually get relegated to a lesser used test but for now I urge any woman of reproductive age (not necessarily reproductively active) to have a PAP test every 2-3 years.

This isn't the dentist or job interview you can avoid cus you don't like the thought of it. You should think of it as compulsory.

Lets keep ourselves cancer free

psychodelicide said:

See ... I had no real issues with the mammogram either

was simple and quick

Mach said:

Mach! You're lucky that it doesn't bother you. For me, it's just painful. I take a deep breath and pray for it to be over.

psychodelicide said:

Surely there must be a band out there somewhere called Pap Smear? I can only imagine their album covers.

evenstar said:

Cancer and other problems can arise whether active or not.

CarrieMpls said:

If you have a sexual history

Both of my gyns told me if a women has never had a sexual partner then a pap smear is not needed. She could do one every 2-3 years if she wanted, but not every year

I hate them. I've been getting them since the age of 18, every year. Or was it 17? I still need mine for this year. I've put it off since February. I'll schedule it next week, because I need to talk to her about something else, so might as well kill two birds with one stone. I just know that I'll never have a male gyno.....not knocking their knowledge & skill, but this is a personal issue. My current gyno. is good, but I miss my first one. I connected better with her. We used to talk before & after, so it felt less uncomfortable.

Imago said:

Pat Smear might be a little angry, thinking you're ripping his name off though.

they are so needed and now i have 2 teens that need to get ready to have their first....


i am going to have my first mammo and my yearly pap on my 40th b-day

I always tell my doctor, I don't really mind taking these tests, but I don't want her to find anything. I want glowing reports.. not follow-ups.

Last year, I had an irregular pap smear finding, so I had to go back for a follow-up in three months. Luckily--no problem. (I have a little history to where I've had surgery once before.)

This year.. I had this incidental xray done on my hip because I injured it about three years ago. I thought maybe it would show arthritis or something like that. Well..... turns out I had to have a bone-scan. Apparently, I had some sort of "inconclusive" type growth this "bone island" that had to be evaluated. It scared the shit out of me because I've never had a bone scan before--and for me bone scan means cancer. Well... I equate it with cancer.

Turns out.. it came back negative. Man.. I was so relieved. I've had to do a biopsy due to "feminine" problems before, and I was all prepared to possibly have a biopsy on my hip... so.. (My cousin died of bone cancer.)

Well.. I still have the pain--particularly at night. She wants to send me to a physical (sports) therapist, but right now... I'm just too busy. I'm just thankful it wasn't anything extremely serious.
[Edited 11/16/07 18:32pm]

I once had a pap smear come back abnormal and had to have a colposcopy
Man I thought a pap smear was uncomfortable, that procedure was uncomfortable and painful But all worth it the results all came back negative

veronikka said:

Is that the one where they actually cut tissue..because I had something almost like that before my hysterectomy.

MoniGram said:

yes, thats exactly what it is, OUCH!!!

TheGoldEXp said:

I just want to know why they can't just stick a longer than normal Q-tip up in there instead of that (I call it a) "prying wide open" tool. What is it actually called again? Why must they be all up in the business? I mean, our legs are already up in the stirrups wide open for the earth to see, why cause more discomfort? I will never forget my very first exam when I was young and untouched. I forgot I was a Christian!

Anyway I HATE em', it's very uncomfortable and even though my Doctor is female she's a bit brutal.

I've been having papa smears since I was 17. For 3yrs now. I've had them done every 6 months. My next one's going to be in a year. I've got an appoinment set.

Had them done by female and male doctors, no difference there.

They don't make me feel uncomfortable at all, it's a very natural procidure for me.

Atleast in my cases, the instrument they use to "widen" the vagina, they called it "duck peak" or something.. I thought it was cute..

Ladies (especially those of you who haven't gotten any papa smears):

It is vital that you get em done. If you respect and value yourselves, your body and your sexual health, you'll wanna get 'em done!

Papa smears are not used only for detecting cervical cancer (though smearing is the most important factor in detecting them), they'll give you information about any changes in your cervix area caused by the papilomavirus.

The virus can (in very rare cases though) cause cancer in the external genitalia, and condyloma (genital warts).

Cervical cancer isn't a familial disease, it isn't inheritable.

HPV can cause genital warts, which can be caught during intercourse, but also from oral sex and by hand contact. I heard on a lecture about a patient in her teens who had condyloma, and she did have any sexual activity and she was a virgin. So having a non-active sexlife isn't a good excuse to avoid smearing.

Eventhough many cervical cancers are diagnosed at the age of 35-45, most women are infected during 16-25 yrs of age. The virus can be totally unnoticable and carried without symptoms. The virus goes away naturally in about 90% of cases, but it is VERY common, unpredictable and versatile.

I'm writing this as a midwife student, future papa smearer and a woman, who's proud of taking responsibility of her sexual health. Take care darlings..

Every year since I was 17...have not missed a year.
The very first one was done by our family dr thanks to my mom suggesting it while we were both in the room. He was an old guy and I remember when he referred to the KY as grape jelly...

OK

Ever since then I have seen female dr's.

Not that bad really..very important

veronikka said:

Then I remember how painful that was! OUCH! BIG TIME!

MoniGram said: