Routine exams no longer recommended (Warning for talk of lower bits)

[Adio]

I get emails everyday from ANA (American Nurses Association) and today I read an interesting article that I want to share with you guys.

http://www.latimes.com/health/la-he-pap-tests-20120315,0,6680962.story

For a while now, I've seen healthcare providers start moving away from doing routine pelvic exams/pap smears, but there wasn't an official guideline beyond the annual exam.  Now both the US Preventive Services Task Force and the American Cancer Society recommend this:

"Pap smear and an HPV test — known as co-testing — women ages 30 to 65 can safely go five years between screenings if the results are negative".

"In lieu of the combined Pap smear-HPV test combination, the task force screening guidelines also offer women ages 30 to 65 the option of having a Pap smear alone every three years."

"Both sets of new guidelines discourage the use of HPV tests in women under age 30. That's because many in this group have active HPV infections that will soon go away."

"Young women don't need Pap smears until age 21. Women ages 21 to 29 should be screened with the Pap smear alone every three years. Women can now stop having Pap smears and HPV tests at age 65. Previous guidelines called for halting screening at age 70."

This should be good news to most of us that don't want to get tested every year.  While it's still important, hopefully this should decrease some anxiety around the issue.

[Biscuit_Stix]

I've never been comfortable with paps, mainly because they're usually bogus. You have just as high a chance of getting false negatives /and/ positives as anything else. And really, what other cancers do people screen for yearly? Lung, breast, stomach, and liver cancer are more common and I don't see anyone lining up to get tested for that every frickin year (well, except the breast)... Regardless, there's a blood test for cervical cancer now. It's not very popular in the US because the pap is such a money maker, but hopefully it'll show up soon.

http://againstgynexams.blogspot.com/2009/07/csa-blood-test.html

[Lee]

This may be a stupid question, but does this stuff need to be done even if you don't have sex?  I remember doctors skipping it when I was younger because I wasn't sexually active, but I don't know if that works once you get older. 

[Adio]

Yes, for pap smears for those over 21; cervical cancer has other risk factors besides STDs.  For those under 30, a HPV test is not recommended.  I can't remember how old you are, but these are the new guidelines:

http://www.cancer.org/Cancer/CervicalCancer/DetailedGuide/cervical-cancer-prevention

http://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/uspstf11/cervcancer/cervcancerrs.htm

[Lee]

Well crap.  Thanks for the answer.

[Adio]

Sorry bud.  Believe me, I wish things were different.

[insideontheoutside]

My personal opinion is that this is a something that gained in popularity over the last 50 years and basically it's bull->-bleeped-<-. It's like mammograms (which recent research in other countries is starting to prove that the instance of cancer in those who regularly receive mammograms goes UP, not down). People forget that this whole medical system we have in the U.S. is not based on making people well or keeping people well - it's based on making money. Someone can argue that as much as they want but that's really what it comes down to. Just look at the proliferation of new "syndromes" and conditions and about 3 new prescription drugs to treat each one. There's not a female in my whole family line that had "regular pap smears" and guess what none of them had? Any sort of female reproductive cancer. If the females in your family tell a different story, then yes, it's probably a good idea to keep an eye on things - have tests run. But for cervical cancer the instance goes up with age. If you're 18 and not having sex I strongly believe you aren't a good candidate for pap smears.

Of course I'm not one to follow so-called medical guidelines for much of anything. All doctors have ever done for me is screw up my health. Emergencies and accidents are another story but a medical doctor is not my first choice in a "wellness" plan.

Sorry for the rant and obviously strong opinions but this type of sh*t just fires me up.