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What happens during a cervical cancer screening?

Back to preparing for your appointment

 
 
A cervical cancer screening is an important way to identify anything abnormal and connect you with follow-up testing and treatment if you need it. Women’s Wellness Connection offers free cervical cancer screenings (also called Pap smears, Pap tests, or HPV tests) and follow-up to those who qualify. This involves an examination of your cervix to check for abnormalities. There are two types of cervical cancer screenings. One type is the Pap test, and the other is the Human Papilloma Virus DNA ( HPV) testing. Both tests are recommended if you are age 30 up to age 65. Over 90 percent of people who find cervical cancer early survive at least 5 years. 

What to expect during your Pap test

  • The test will be done in a private room. If you'd feel more comfortable having a friend, family member, or staff member in the room for the test, please ask the clinic staff and in most cases, they may join you.  
  • You'll be provided with a cover sheet or gown to wear, and before the test, you'll be asked by the clinical staff to remove your clothing from the waist down.
  • Your health care provider will begin the test by asking you to lie back on the exam table. A pelvic exam is done before your Pap test. The provider will place one or two fingers inside your vagina and press on your belly with their other hand. This allows the provider to feel for unusual growths or masses in the vagina, cervix, and the uterus.
  • After the pelvic exam the provider will do the Pap test. For the Pap test, your health care provider will insert a small instrument, called a speculum, into your vagina to help see your cervix. A few cervical cells are then taken from the surface and the inside of the cervix and sent to a lab to be checked.
  • The test usually takes only about 10 minutes.
     

A tip to help you prepare for your Pap test

  • If you are bleeding at the time of your Pap test, the test might not be able to be sent to the lab and the test may need to be repeated if the blood makes it unreadable.  Try to schedule your exam at a time when you are not bleeding. 

What to expect during your Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) test

  • The HPV test may be completed at the same time as your Pap test. If the Pap and HPV tests are completed together this is called “Co testing”. 
  • Your health care provider will have you lay back on the exam table and place your feet in stirrups. The health care provider will insert a small instrument, called a speculum, into your vagina to help see your cervix. A few cervical cells are then taken from the surface and the inside of the cervix and sent to a lab to be checked.