WOMEN AWARENESS ON Pap and HPV TESTS

Stay Healthy With Pap and HPV Tests

Most women will be infected by HPV, a common skin cell virus, at some point in their lives.

The virus is transmitted through skin-to-skin contact in the genital area, most often by sexual intercourse.

Most HPV infections will go away on their own within two years.

The HPV test looks to see if the types of the virus that can cause cervical cancer are present in the cells of the cervix.

The Pap test looks at the cells for abnormal changes on the cervix caused by HPV.

If certain types of HPV infect cervical cells for a prolonged period of time, there is a risk that the cells will change abnormally and may progress to cancer cells.

Two types—HPV 16 and HPV 18—are responsible for 70 percent of all cervical cancer.

If the HPV test is positive, it does not mean that a partner has been unfaithful. In fact, the reason women 30 and older, and not younger women, are tested for HPV is to find infections that have been present for a long time.

If you have a high-risk type of HPV, your health care provider will monitor your cervical health as long as the virus remains in your cells.

A woman could have HPV in her cervical cells for a long time and never develop a problem.

If HPV is present, it can take as long as 10 to 15 years for cancer to develop.