Screen Women for Cervical Cancer
Use Pap tests every 3 years for women ages 21-29
- Doctors or nurses collect cells for the Pap test during an exam.
- The Pap test can find abnormal cells that may develop into cancer, if left untreated.
Choose 1 of 2 options for women ages 30-65
Doctor and patient decide together which screening approach is preferred:
- Pap test every 3 years, or;
- Pap test plus HPV test every 5 years. The HPV test can find the HPV virus by testing cells collected at the same time as a Pap test.
Women should get screened as recommended. More frequent screening does not provide more protection.
- Some women may need a different screening schedule because of their health history.
- Women over age 65 should ask their doctor if they need to continue screening.
- Women should talk with their doctors and nurses to understand their screening results.
- Women who had the HPV vaccine should still start getting screened when they reach age 21.