Unnecessary Pap Smears
Published June 25, 2004
The current issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association contains an article whose headline is:
Cervical Cancer Screening Among Women Without a Cervix
How can this be?
In almost all hysterectomies, the cervix - which anatomically is part of the uterus - is removed along with the rest of the uterus.
Likewise, most hysterectomies are performed for benign disease, not cervical cancer.
In 1996, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force stated that routine Pap smear screening is unnecessary for such women.
The JAMA study found that:
22 million U.S. women 18 and older have undergone hysterectomy (21% of that population)
In 1992 (before the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommendation) 68.5% of women who had undergone hysterctomy reported having a Pap smear in the previous 3 years
In 2002 (six years after the recommendation) 69.1% had a Pap smear during the same period
The authors of the study estimate that almost 10 million women - half of all women who have undergone hysterectomy - are being screened unnecessarily, as they are not at risk of cervical cancer.
Amazing to me.
If you're one of these 10 million women, perhaps you should ask your doctor why you continue to have Pap smears done.
It's intrusive, costly, and can only lead to misdiagnosis and inappropriate intervention.
Besides which, it's an example of your doctor's ignorance and general incompetence, not to mention fraudulent.
On a related subject, do you know the incidence of cervical cancer in nuns?
It's 0.
Which is why a girl who's not on the pill and is a virgin does not need to undergo a gynecological exam or Pap smear - ever.
I challenge any physician to show me a good reason why this isn't so.
- Unnecessary Pap Smears
- Published: June 25, 2004
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- Section: Culture
- Writer: bookofjoe
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Comments on this articleComments
Where did you get the incidence in nuns figure from? I'd be delighted never to have to get one again.
This is a great blog, and consistent with what doctors have told me. I am a virgin in my late 20s, and do not bother with Paps or pelvic exams. I find them violating in concept, especially for people who have never had intercourse, and they have little value beyond cervical cancer screening. They can't reliably detect ANY other cancer, or even endometriosis.
I would encourage any woman who has been sexually active to have pap smears done on a schedule that is appropriate for her level of risk, which she can discuss with her doc. But virgins should be left out of gyn procedures entirely unless there is some urgent/life threatening medical need for them.
Most of the whole "yearly pelvic exam for all women" hype seems to be just that. It's really your lifestyle and individual risk factors that determine what tests and exams you need, and I would argue that almost no one needs a yearly pelvic exam. A pap is one thing, but there seems little to be gained from further intrusion on the female body.
The reason that a virgin (and assumedly nuns) would not need Pap smears is because the test checks for cervical cancer caused by HPV, a sexually transmitted disease (which, like Herpes, does not 'go away'). It is next to impossible to catch HPV if one is never sexually active (virgin).
However, for those that are, Pap smears can be a life saver and should be performed on a regular basis (annually, if sexually active; every six months after an abnormal result).
I'm 19 and I really seriously do not want one, I fear pain(last time, even though that wasn't "the test", pretty much hurt me and as much as I tried I couldn't relax to try and make it easier). I'm also freaked out about being exposed to a stranger (even if she is a female) that I only see but a few times a year when I fall ill...But becuase of the medical history on my Mom's side I have no choice. Now that ladies, is a cause for it, if your medical history has problems relating to it, even if you're a virgin I think it's a good idea (even though I despise saying this) to have one JUST AS A PROCAUTION...I'm cringing even as I write, I can not believe I just said this...Good luck to the rest of you, it does suck and it didn't help that I was told it would be done...MANY times...
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I refuse to do paps at all I'm 33 and will never do them. It's bull.