How often should women have Pap tests?
In the United States, about 5,600 women die each year from cancer of the cervix. Since the advent of the Pap smear, death rates from cervical cancer have decreased markedly. If women have routine Pap smears, this type of cancer is more than 90 percent preventable. Based on this information, two organizations — the American Cancer Society (ACS) and American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) – have published guidelines for Pap smears. Both the ACS and ACOG state that the first Pap smear should occur at age 21 or three years after a woman begins having sexual intercourse. Both organizations basically state that every woman should have a yearly Pap test until age 30, then have the test every two to three years as long as she has had three consecutive tests with normal results. The ACS recommends discontinuing at age 70 with three consecutive years of normal results. The ACOG says no discontinuation based on two caveats: Pap smear screening of women over age 65 would increa
