making their treatment decisions and hopes it leads to fewer women undergoing aggressive and invasive procedures.
Why get a Pap smear?
According to The Journal of the American Osteopathic Association, it’s typically used for prevention and early detection of precancerous lesions caused by the human papillomaviruses (HPV) and can lead to cervical cancer. Often the immune system is able to fight off the virus, and when it does, precancerous lesions tend to regress back to normal cells.
This is why, when precancerous lesions are discovered, the next step is usually to test for HPV. Physicians determine their recommendation for treatment by calculating risk, which depends on the stage of the lesion and whether HPV is still present.
Aggressive treatment usually involves excising the lesion. While this effectively eliminates the risk for developing cancer, it also compromises the cervix and can negatively affect reproductive health, especially if the procedure is done multiple times over a patient’s life.
Treatment According To Race
“Whenever we are able to tailor our treatment accordingly, it’s always the most