Dr. Emmanuel L. Yanthan, MS (OB-GYN)
Obstetrician & Gynecologist · Updated August 2026
Almost every other cancer is found once it exists. Cervical cancer is different. Screening picks up abnormal cells on the cervix — the neck of the womb — while they are still just abnormal cells. Treating those cells is straightforward. Waiting until they have become cancer is not.
That gap is usually years wide. It is the entire reason screening saves lives, and the entire reason a normal result is worth the twenty minutes it takes.
What causes it, in one paragraph
Nearly all cervical cancer is caused by persistent infection with high-risk HPV — human papillomavirus, a very common virus passed on through sexual contact. Most women who get it clear it themselves within about two years and never know they had it. Cancer risk comes from the minority of infections that persist. That is what screening is watching for.
Other things raise the risk: smoking, a weakened immune system, and long-term factors your doctor will ask about. But HPV is the necessary ingredient.
What the tests are
- Pap test (Pap smear) — a small sample of cells brushed from the cervix, examined for abnormal changes.
- HPV test — looks for the virus itself, often on the same sample.
Neither is a biopsy and neither requires anaesthesia. A speculum holds the vaginal walls apart so the cervix can be seen, the sample is taken in seconds, and you go home immediately. Uncomfortable for some women; painful for very few.
When to start, and how often
Screening is generally aimed at women from around 30 onwards, and the right test and interval depends on your age, your history and what previous results have shown. Rather than working from a number you read online, ask at your next visit — it takes one minute and the answer is specific to you.
Two things worth knowing separately: HPV vaccination is most effective given before any exposure, which is why it is offered to girls in early adolescence. And a vaccinated woman still needs screening later — the vaccine covers most high-risk HPV types, not all of them.
The part that gets missed
Screening is for women with no symptoms. That is the point of it. If you are already bleeding between periods, bleeding after sex, or bleeding after menopause, you do not need a screening test — you need to be examined, and soon. Those symptoms are a different conversation with a different urgency.
Due a screening, or not sure whether you are?
Cervical screening is done here at the clinic. Message us and we’ll tell you whether you are due and what it involves.
General information, not advice about your particular situation. No article can replace being examined. Evita GyneCare provides antenatal care, gynecological consultations and outpatient diagnostics; we do not provide childbirth or caesarean section services.