i am 23 and never had a pap smear, can i have cervical cancer?

Question

i have been sexually active for two years now

Answer 1

You should go to the doctor and get a pap smear and get on some birth control and use protection while having sex. You're pretty young, I'd say your chances of having cervical cancer is slim but it's always wise to get that check up once a year to make sure everything is fine. The earlier things are caught, the chances are better...not just for cancer but cysts and other problems you might have.

Answer 2

You could have. A pap smear is designed to find abnormal cells on the cervix, and if found they will biopsy them to check for cancer. It's recommended that all sexually active women get pap smears every year. You really should have had one by now, so please make an appointment today! I would also consider the new Guardasil vaccine that protects you from certain types of HPV, which can cause cervical cancer.

I've done lots of work in clinics where I see so many women with HPV, the virus that causes cervical cancer. Most people don't know that condoms don't fully protect you from the HPV virus because it is so small. If you have sex with condoms every single time you could still get HPV and never know it. It's important to get pap smears because they can detect abnormal cells caused by HPV.

I can't stress this enough, limit your sexual partners and always use a condom! I noticed the common theme with women who had HPV was that they had slept with more than 3 people per year and had a lifetime partner count of 15.

Take care of yourself girl and go get a PAP.

Answer 3

Cervical cancer is a disease in which some cells in the cervix show abnormal, uncontrolled growth. Cervical cancer is often caused by the human papillomavirus or HPV. HPV is a sexually transmitted infection that goes away by itself and rarely leads to cervical cancer. However, there are other risks that may lead to cervical cancer like not getting a regular Pap test.
It is important to know about cervical cancer because it is one of the few cancers that is nearly 100% preventable and curable when found early!

Who is at risk for cervical cancer.
Women who have sex or have ever had sex.
Women who have never had a Pap test.
Women who have not had a Pap test in the last five years.
Women who smoke.
Women who are HIV positive.

What you should know about pap tests.
A Pap test is a simple, painless test to check for any abnormal cells on a woman's cervix.

A Pap test is done in a doctor's office. It takes only a few seconds. The doctor uses a tiny brush to wipe some cells off the cervix. The cells are put on a slide and sent to a lab where they are checked.

Cancer Detection Programs: Every Woman Counts covers the following services regarding Pap tests:

Women age 25 and older who qualify for free cervical cancer screening with Cancer Detection Programs: Every Woman Counts may receive a Pap test every year. If the Pap test is normal three years in a row then the doctor may decide that the Pap test can be repeated every three years instead of every year.
Cancer Detection Programs: Every Woman Counts also pays for Pap tests after hysterectomies for program eligible women if the hysterectomy showed evidence of cervical cancer.
The American Cancer Society makes the following cervical cancer screening recommendations to women:
A woman should start getting yearly Pap tests at the age of 21 or three years after she starts having sex, whichever comes first.
Starting at the age of 30 a woman should talk to her doctor about how often to get a Pap test. Some women age 30 and older only need a Pap test every two or three years.
Women who have gone through menopause still need to get a Pap test.
Women who have had a hysterectomy should talk to their doctor about their need for getting a Pap test.

Answer 4

You need to get a pap smear to find that out. With HPV on the rise anything is possible. I have HPV and had cervical dysplasia, which is the beginning stages of cervical cancer. But since I get yearly pap smears they caught it early and took care of it before it became a major problem. Go get a PAP SMEAR!

Answer 5

Having a pap smear does not prevent you from having cervical cancer, but pinpointing whether you could have or not. It also traces whether you have abnormal cells. Most women who have cervical cancer normally get it, because either their mom's have had it, it would run in the family. I strongly suggest that you go for a pap smear seeing that you are sexually active.

Answer 6

Please read what I have written, it may encourage you.

As to weather you do or not, I don't know. I hope not.

Please see that you start having them done regularly.

During my pregnancy I had a spot on my uterus, they didn't tell me until after my daughter was born. After my daughter was born my pap test came back as a possible indication of cancer. I was lucky and it all turned out alright. I did have to have a D and C done, that showed that every thing was fine.

This year my pap test came back on the lower end of the scale, there is a scale of between some thing like 0- 4. The higher it is on the scale the greater the chance of cancer, 4 usually is cancer. Mine came back around a 1 or some where near there, meaning a possibility of my having cancer cells starting.

I was able to have a procedure done that removed the cells. It has an extremely difficult name to pronounce, so they call it LEEP for short. In this procedure they actually cut off the tip of your cervix and scrape the cervix to remove any possible cancer cells. This procedure may have saved my life, so far the test I've had since have shown no more problems.

This procedure can make it difficult for a women to carry a baby after this is done, since it weaken the cervix. It is an extreemly painful proceedure to have to go through. But I'm thankful/blessed to have been able to have the LEEP proceedure done and not have to suffer through a hysterectomy as many women have. Every three months I have to go back in and be checked and also have a pap done as well, this last time the results were all clear. God bless the many women who have had to go through hysterectomys, my heart goes out to them.

BTW: My husband cheated on me while we were married, we have now been divorced for 16 years. It may have been a gift that he gave me. What a gift to be given!

Please take care of your self, it may just save your life.

Answer 7

You know, it's always a possibility. They now have a vaccine for cervical cancer (it is a virus that causes the cancer) I would recommend going to your doctor, or find a gynecologist to talk with you about this. It's really important for a young woman to begin to take charge of her body - caring for it by going to a health care professional, AND protecting it by using not only birth control (if you are not ready to have children) BUT carry condoms with you. Don't just leave that up to the guy. Do these two things, and you have a better chance of being healthy in the future.

Good Luck Dear.

Answer 8

You most certainly could have cervical cancer. You should have started getting a yearly pap and pelvic exam when you turned 18. Call today and make an appointment with your regular doc to get this done ASAP.

Answer 9

Sure , YOu might have it right now. ANY one can have it. Why do you think they reccomend yearly pap smears and pelvic exams? Unless your susper human or have robotic futuristic powers, you can get cancer too. Go get a pas test silly. It takes 5 minutes and doesn't even hurt.

Answer 10

You should talk to your doctor my mother just fought cervical cancer. and she hurt like hell after........But definitely go get a pap smear done.....they dont hurt they are just uncomfortable