Connect
← Return to Screening can catch cervical cancer early
Newsfeed PostNewsfeed Post in blog Podcasts
Screening can catch cervical cancer early Oct 17, 2022 | By Jennifer O'Hara (@jenohara)Comment receiving replies
When I was 72 years old, and at my last Pap test, I was told by the doc that the exams are only to detect HPV, and that I didn't need to be getting screened anymore. I had never heard that and have been getting screenings for probably 45 years thinking it was for cervical cancer. What is your take on this information? I lost one of my dearest friends to cervical cancer and she was 67.
Replies to "When I was 72 years old, and at my last Pap test, I was told by..."
Connect
baz10
I had my last Pap test in 2011 and I was diagnosed with invasive adenocarcinoma of the cervix in 2015 when I was 74. It rapidly changed to stage 3 when it was found in one ovary and then spread down into the vagina. I found this in an article from a Medicare forum "As many as 20% of cervical cancer cases occur in women aged 65 and older, according to research out of the University of Alabama at Birmingham.1 Study results also showed that the rate of cervical cancer diagnosis was higher in women age70 – 79 than in women age20 – 29. Prior to these findings, the view was that cervical cancer was usually only diagnosed in younger women. Apparently, Pap tests are not accurate in older women as there are changes to the cuff of the cervix which make using other methods necessary.