Cervical cancer is one of the main reasons for the death of many women all around the world. While there is nothing that can be done when it comes to an aggravated stage of cancer, there are a few things that we can do when it comes to taking preventive measures. One of the most common preventive measures when it comes to cervical cancers is to conduct regular pap smear tests.
It is not always necessary that you have to have a history of cancer in the family. There is no determined cause or cure to cancer and hence the rule of getting tested at regular intervals applies for everyone. Even if you are pregnant, you should get tested then too because you will not want to risk the development of your child. A lot of women who have had pap smear tests done during their pregnancy days ask a very common question- are abnormal pap smears common during pregnancy? Ah, well it is and it does not mean that you have cancer.
What does it mean if my pap smear test results are not normal?
While not many women show signs of abnormal pap smear tests- almost one out of ten when tested during pregnancy, it is often seen that the results are abnormal. Just because you have an abnormal pap smear test result does not mean that you have cancer. There are various reasons as to why your pap smear result might detect the presence of abnormal cells. For starters, it might be because you have an infection, or a herpes. It might also be the result of any sexual encounter that you have had recently, HPV and Dysplasia. HPV or the Human Papilloma Virus is the major cause of concern, since it is this virus which might ultimately lead to the growth of cancerous cells in the body. However the saving grace here is that if HPV is detected early and is treated properly, they tend to get totally washed out, decreasing your chances of developing cervical cancer because of them.
A lot of women have seen an abnormal pap smear during pregnancy but there is nothing to panic about. You need to consider the various reasons as to why your pap smear result has detected abnormal cells and it always does not mean cancer. Sometimes doctors also recommend a colposcopy just to be sure and so that any possibility of cervical cancer might be ruled out. In fact after delivery, a lot of women have found that their pap smear test results are normal since there is a high chance that during delivery any abnormal cells or infection get washed out. If your pap smear test results come back abnormal, do not assume the worst and do not start panicking. It is harmful for the baby. Take it step by step. Get a colposcopy done.
It is important to remember that you won’t be able to do anything before the delivery and hence it is best not to panic and harm the mental health of the child. Talk to your doctor and figure out what can be done and have a treatment plan ready.
