In addition to Pap smears, HPV DNA testing has become a cornerstone of gynecological cancer prevention. This advanced technique detects the presence of human papillomavirus (HPV), a sexually ...

For the most accurate Pap smear, doctors recommend taking the following steps, starting 48 hours before your test. Don’t have sex or use lubricants. Don’t use sprays or powders near your vagina.

Still, making pap smears trauma-free for all patients will require commitment from across the field of gynecology. “We need to keep pushing on [this],” Goppisetty said.

Tamrakar R et al. Clinico-Pathological Analysis of Cervical Pap Smear in Patients Attending Gynecology OPD of a Medical College. Europasian Journal of Medical Sciences. January 28, 2021.

This company wants to replace your Pap smear — and promises its DIY cancer screening is less painful By . ... no one enjoys going to the OB-GYN for a routine Pap smear,” Egan told The Post.

Maybe you had a bad experience with your last Pap smear and you’re wary of going back to the ob-gyn. Or maybe you’ve never had one before and are scared to make the appointment. It’s ...

Peter Dazeley/Getty Images If you can’t remember when you had your last pap smear, there’s a chance you might be due for another. So how often should you get a pap smear, exactly? We asked Dr ...

According to Shepherd, avoiding sex before a pap smear isn’t an across-the-board rule, and it won’t make or break your test. But she said it’s not a bad idea to opt out of sex for 24 hours ...

Despite the Pap smear’s effectiveness, the drop in cervical cancer deaths has leveled off since 2008. In the United States, about 11,500 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer each year, and ...

For years, a pap smear was part of a woman's annual visit to her medical provider, usually an obstetrician-gynecologist. But the guidelines changed in 2012 and now, for most women, pap smears are ...