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(HealthNewsDigest.com) – For decades, many women have seen their health care provider for their yearly pap test to screen for cervical cancer. New technology that also checks for the presence of the human papillomavirus (HPV) means that most healthy women don’t need to be screened as frequently.
Mayo Clinic Family Medicine specialist Dr. Kathy MacLaughlin says certain forms of the HPV virus are responsible for most cases of cervical cancer. And if the test shows the virus is not present and cervical cells are normal, the majority of healthy women won’t need another screening test for three to five years.
In this Mayo Clinic Minute, Dr. MacLaughlin explains pap recommendations. Vivien Williams reports.