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Follow-up

If a woman's Pap smear result is normal, she will continue routine screening.

If her Pap smear result is atypical (not able to be categorized as normal or abnormal), the test is repeated in 4 months. If the repeat test is abnormal, the doctor will do a colposcopy.

• In this test, the doctor looks at the cervix through an instrument called a colposcope (a lighted microscope) to look for an explanation for the abnormality in the Pap smear finding.
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• The exam is not painful and has no adverse effects. It is possible to perform this exam during pregnancy.
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• If there are abnormal cells on the cervix, the doctor will perform a biopsy (take a sample of the tissue to view under a microscope).

If a woman's smear result is abnormal and suggestive of cancer, she will have colposcopy and biopsy tests performed.

• In a biopsy, the doctor will take a small sample of the tissue of the woman's cervix to see if cancer cells are present. A biopsy is the only way to determine if she has precancer, true cancer, or neither.
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• Several types of biopsies are performed under different types of anesthesia.
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• To treat precancer tissue or a very early cancer, the doctor may remove the abnormal tissue entirely during the biopsy.
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• If both the biopsy and the Pap smear findings are normal, the Pap smear will be performed again in 4 months.
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• If the biopsy finding is normal but a Pap smear finding is abnormal, the doctor will repeat the colposcopy and biopsy.
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• If the biopsy finding is abnormal and suggestive of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) or cancer, treatment will begin for cervical cancer.