The Pap test, or Pap smear, is a way to check cells from the cervix (the lower part of the uterus or womb) and the vagina. This test can find precancerous changes or cancer of the cervix or vagina. A Pap test will only rarely detect cancer of the ovaries or cancer of the upper part of the uterus (endometrial cancer). It can also find some infections of the cervix and vagina.

A Pap test is simple, quick, and painless; it can be done in a doctor's office, a clinic, or a hospital. While a woman lies on an exam table, the clinician inserts a speculum into her vagina to widen it. A sample of cells is taken from the cervix with a wooden scraper and/or a small cervical brush. The specimen (or smear) is placed on a glass slide and preserved with a fixative, or is rinsed in a vial of fixative, and is sent to a laboratory for examination.

Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is a protein produced by prostate tissue. An elevated PSA level in the blood may identify the presence of cancerous abnormalities of the prostate gland before symptoms are reported, and thus has been used as a screening test. The limitation of PSA as a diagnostic test is that PSA levels can be elevated in benign diseases of the prostate as well as in malignancies.

Prostate Specific Antigen is a protein made by the prostate gland, which naturally leaks out into the bloodstream. The PSA test measures the level of PSA in the blood. The test is not always reliable as PSA levels also increase as men get older and due to other conditions of the prostate.

Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is a substance produced by the prostate gland. This is a test that measures the amount of PSA in the bloodstream.

Doctors and other specially trained health care professionals, such as physician assistants, nurse midwives, and nurse practitioners, may perform Pap tests and pelvic exams. These individuals are often called clinicians.

Women should talk with their clinician about when and how often they should have a Pap test. Current general guidelines recommend that women have a Pap test at least once every 3 years, beginning about 3 years after they begin to have sexual intercourse, but no later than age 21. Experts recommend waiting about 3 years after the start of sexual activity to avoid overtreatment for common, temporary abnormal changes. It is safe to wait 3 years, because cervical cancer usually develops slowly.

Cancer of the cervix is one of the most preventable of all cancers. Pap tests pick up early warning signs that can be treated before cancer develops. By having a Pap test every two years, you're giving yourself a chance for anything to be found and treated if necessary.

There is now a service that will help remind you. The NSW Pap Test Register is a confidential record of all Pap tests of women in NSW. It will help you by:

A Pap test, or Pap smear, is part of a woman's routine physical exam. It is the best way to prevent cervical cancer, because it can find cells on your cervix that could turn into cancer. The cervix is the lower part of the uterus that opens into the vagina. When your doctor says that your Pap test was "abnormal," it means that the test found some cells on your cervix that do not look normal. It does not mean that you have cancer. In fact, the chances that you have cancer are very small.

Annually. After several normal pap smears, your doctor may decide not to do a Pap test every year. However, you should still have the rest of the gynecological examination. If you have had a hysterectomy (with the cervix removed) or if you have ever had an abnormal Pap, yearly Pap tests are recommended. If your Paps were always normal before the hysterectomy, you should have a gynecological exam every year and a Pap test every three to five years. Back to top