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Rethinking The Yearly Test

Posted November 21, 2009

Call it a case of bad timing, but the surprsing new recommendations from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) regarding pap smears for women came out just one week after the controversial recommendations from a government task force about women receiving mammograms later in life. It has been widely accepted that women should receive pap smears, which test for cervical cancer, once a year and they should begin within three years after being sexually active (or at the age of 21). The new recommendations from the ACOG state that women should begin getting the pap test at age 21 (no earlier) and that they should not necessarily receive the test once a year.

An article from Web MD outlines the latest recommendations from the ACOG. After taking the latest medical data into account the ACOG states that women between the ages of 21 and 30 should only receive the pap test once every 2 years and women 30 and older with 3 consecutive normal pap tests should have the test done every 3 years. Additionally, women aged 65 to 70 can stop taking the test all together if they have had 3 consecutive normal tests and no abnormal tests within 10 years. The ACOG also states there should be increased screening rates in women with risk factors for cervical cancer.

ACOG's case against teenagers receiving pap tests is that it is very rare for adolescents to have cervical cancer and in many cases the HPV infection (which has been linked to cervical cancer) clears up on its own naturally in younger patients. Ob-Gyn Mark H. Einstein reports to Web MD that he agrees with the ACOG's new guidelines. He says, "The vast majority of abnormalities identified through early screening are clinically irrelevant manifestations of (transient)HPV infection. Early screening stigmatizes young women and subjects them to extra testing and unnecessary treatment."

The ACOG still recommends women have annual gynecological exams if their doctors think it is necessary. But many argue that with the new recommendations of spacing out pap tests to every 2 or 3 years it will cause a lot of women to stop going in for an annual exam and possibly missing other problems that arise.

What do you think of the new recommendations from the ACOG regarding pap tests?

Do you think after receiving these recommendations some women will be more likely to forgo an annual trip to their gynecologist?

32 Comments

bullfrog8 says:	on Nov 21, 2009
Makes me wonder if we were subjected to more tests over the years to pad the medical paychecks, or is the changing of guidelines part of the new rationing of medical care to save costs. Hard to accept things at face value anymore.

msfriendly says:	on Nov 21, 2009
It seems that women's health care is so confusing. Is this new guideline due to an insurance lobby plan? Seems to me that this may be where this is coming from! It's just so hard to believe anyone and any recommendations any more. I think we all need to be pro-active in our health care and do what we think is right for ourselves.

elysejoy1 says:	on Nov 21, 2009
I'm not sure it's such a great idea. Women's health has always taken the back seat to men's health. I hope this isn't another example of that.

loli1707 says:

on Nov 21, 2009

hmmm i think they should get tested after they become sexually active , unfortunatly its at a younger age & with more partners .. they dont really have any idea what they are doing to their bodies or teh damaged it can cause ..so i think screening is important esp with all teh gross things u can get sleeping around ...and in this day & age there seems to be no mommies that take enough time to really raise their kids, so the results are obvious! ps. I concure whole heartedly with msfriendly !

goal130 says:	on Nov 21, 2009
I do not care what they recommend they are incorrect. I had a best friend who was 19 years old when she was diagnosed with cervical cancer. This was in 1985. If she had followed the new recommendations - waiting for three years after becoming sexually active (she started at age 18) she might have died. She had to have a major surgery to prevent the spread of the cancer.

uniqueusername says:	on Nov 21, 2009
I think not having the Pap tests every year is ridiculous.. I didnt go like I should have in my younger years and if I had I might have avoided some problems.. I go every year now because of the high risk of cancer in my family.. This could potentially save my life.. Not going according to these guidelines is reckless and potentially harmful to women!

L_camille says:	on Nov 21, 2009
This is just my opinion, but I really think it is very important for women to get paps every year..not just a pap, but full lab work also..you never know when things can go wrong in your body. Once of year is just a little peace of mind that everything is ok. Probably starting when you become sexually active..which these days is way too young.

Alyssarae92293 says:	on Nov 22, 2009
PAP TESTS ARE NERY IMPORTANT AS WOMEN WE NEED TO STAY HEALTHY AND GET CHECKED OUT

momagarry says:	on Nov 22, 2009
This is crazy I am still getting my pap every year.

bluesubaru says:	on Nov 22, 2009
y a i decided to leave mine untill next year,but i think it is a good idea to go t o the dr if anything seems a little off or wtong. makes me wnder if it was the fda who thought this up, or the drs?

tsoko says:	on Nov 22, 2009
I think people will still want the test because of the fear of cancer.

jlindseyc says:	on Nov 23, 2009
I would be ok with getting a Pap everyother year as long as I still got to see my Dr. at least once a year.

Acone85 says:

on Nov 23, 2009

I think that healthy women that do not have multiple partners do not need to go every year for a pap smear. Ultimately your health care should be your own decision and if you feel more comfortable going every year then you should, but if you feel better going every year then you should be able to do that too. I am a healthy married woman in my late 20s who has never had anything wrong down there and I have no history of those types of problems in my family. I really only end up going to get another birth control prescription.

bkost3 says:

on Nov 23, 2009

I guess for me, the broad recommendations are just that -- broad. Individually I think it's important to evaluate your health risks and make decisions on where to go from there, but changing the guidelines completely? Makes me a little skeptical. After a cervical cancer scare for me, I will always get a yearly checkup, especially since I am in the baby bearing ages and my body is changing constantly. I think this recent development is just making things more confusing for women who are just trying to do their best for their health.

lserfling says:	on Nov 24, 2009
I think that if the American Cancer Society signs off on these recommendations, then we should pay attention to them.

frogqueen75 says:

on Nov 24, 2009

I think this is ridiculous. The insurance companies are going to see this & say "We're NOT going to pay for annual paps & we're NOT going to pay for paps before age 21." So we will be stuck paying for necessary medical tests. I had my 1st pelvic exam in the ER at age 12 when I had an ovarian cyst rupture-I WAS NOT sexually active! However, I had started my menstrual cycles & had horrible problems w/them, and continued to do so over the next several years. My gyn started complete pelvic workups, including paps, on me before I was sexually active at around age 15 to try to determine why I kept having problems with cysts rupturing & abnormal bleeding.

Sparkleandshine says:

on Nov 24, 2009

Hmmmm I think that the recomendation would be good for people that aren't sexually active or that have only 1 partner (between tests). Paps do more than just look for cancer they can also detect STDs. You know that people will only go in for physicals acoording to these recs. and things can easily slip by. Of course because of these new guidelines insurance will only be willing to pay by them and you will have to pay out of pocket if you want more services.

cybrown551 says:	on Nov 24, 2009
I think that the recommendation for the ACOG is a bad idea. I think that women need to continue the routine as it is currently in place. We need early diagnosis to be able to detect a problem so that the problem can be reverse or prevented.

Lusadi says:	on Nov 25, 2009
I agree that a yearly pap test should be part of a full physical with blood work for women yearly. At the very least, this should be done every other year.

sharman421 says:

on Nov 25, 2009

Instead of taking away from women's health care, the ACOG should be adding recommendations. In fact, women should be demanding more. There is a simple blood test for detecting ovarian cancer. It has been around for years, and yet rarely does a doctor suggest it. It is never part of the usual yearly blood work and it should be. If this is typical as to where health care is going, we are in trouble!

umapat says:

on Nov 26, 2009

I personally think that this decision is a womam's choice. She should know her own body. Who should be able to tell me I shouldn't have this yearly? Is this another ploy so the insurance companies do not have to pay? I think if woman do not have the option of having this test done yearly and it being paid by their insurance, they will alos not go in for a yealy gynelogical exam either nor will they go for their yeraly mamograms..........

kaykoa says:	on Nov 26, 2009
i think it is up to every womens decesion what ever she feels is the right decesion

idahospud says:	on Nov 26, 2009
I have had anual pap tests as recomended.If i had not,I believe,my cancer would not have been caught in time.I am 100% cancer free 16 years later.

rhonda145271 says:	on Nov 26, 2009
I have had cervicle cancer about 11 years ago. Lucky for me I had 13 biopsy's and that took care of that so far. So when I took my daughter to the doctors they suggested she come more often. I recommended she go every year no matter what. Even though mine have beeen normal, I will still go every year. I say women need this test.

Gott2beme says:	on Nov 28, 2009
I think the decision is for the woman to make. Makes me wonder if they really know what they are talking about.

whslibrarian says:	on Nov 29, 2009
WHy take a chance that they will say in a year that you should have them yearly due to the increase in cancer cases? It is a not worth the risk.

countrycouponclipper says:	on Nov 29, 2009
I wont chance it! Its like they are tring to weed out the women race!

lizmarie says:	on Nov 30, 2009
I work in the medical field & believe they should be done yearly. Ive seen too many regret not kaving it done on a regular basis. I frequently wonder if this has anything to do with the goverment health care proposal, and cut on medical expences.

AimeeAken says:	on Dec 03, 2009
I think it is wise to still receive one once a year. My OBGYN does it, even though the family doctor said "Hey, did you know you do not have to". I think it varies from doc to doc but to be safe I would think it is a good idea to keep with it. Some want you to have check ups every 6 mos with the pap once a year, but my doctor cut me down to only once a year check ups which is fine by me. :)

BadgerBride says:

on Dec 22, 2009

I'm a little leary of all of these reports coming out lately. Why do they all focus on women's health and reducing the amount of tests we need. What about men's health? It seems like there is a push to reduce the number of tests or screenings women need right before healthcare is passed. It makes me nervous that I won't get the kind of care I need in the future and my family has a high risk of cancer. Scary if you ask me.

ksumm77 says:	on Dec 24, 2009
My family dr didn't say anything to me about this, just scheduled an appointment again for this test. That would be great if it wasn't needed yearly!!!

blueeyes1 says:

on Dec 25, 2009

My thoughts are that the insurance companies are behind these studies... pushing for more and more limits on what they will or won't cover! For years,women have been having tests on a yearly basis such as Pap and Mammograms and now all of a sudden we are being told "no, you don't need these like we thought you did." Not for me... bring on the tests! A relative small amount of discomfort to help ensure a longer life - that's the plan for me. I am a breast cancer survivor of 5 golden years now thanks in part to my first mammogram at the age of 40. I shudder to think when my life would have ended if I had followed the new guidelines being spouted now instead of those we grew up with.

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