Lively Women

Yearly Pap Smear for Cervical Cancer — Just Do It!

by Heather on September 8th, 2006

I lived through it, and I’m here to tell you, it wasn’t that bad.

What am I talking about? My annual check-up. It had somehow been two years since I’d been to my OB/GYN. I had scheduled an appt. last spring, and I had to cancel for some reason — then oops, time flew by. My doctor told me two years is not that bad — some women go even longer.

Ladies, we gotta do it. Sure, we can do our monthly breast exams at home, but it’s important to get an annual pap smear to help detect cervical and other types of cancers in the early stages where there’s a high rate of being cured completely.

If you haven’t been in over a year, and you’ve somehow landed on my site, please please please take this as a wake-up call: JUST DO IT. Call the doctor, make an appointment, and know that you’re one of millions of us who hate it just as much as you do. But you’re worth it. Your life is VERY important to many people. Read this:

Four out of five who die of cervical cancer did not have the exam in the preceding five years according to the College of American Pathology. As women get older, they’re less likely to get a Pap. Last year, 40 percent of women didn’t, even when they knew they should. Half of these women were 50 or older, an age of greater risk since nearly 60 percent of all cervical cancers are found in women over age 55.”

Visit the Women’s Wellness site that lists all the preventative tests women should have done to maintain good health. The extensive research and support here are very helpful.

You are WORTH every dollar you’ll spend and every minute it takes to get a check-up. Don’t delay!

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POSTED IN: Aging, Cancer, Health, Wellness