I hate getting Pap smears. Is there a safe alternative?

"I hear you: Pap smears are not fun. At best, they're uncomfortable. At worst, they can be deeply upsetting for people who've experienced sexual or medical trauma. As a primary care doctor, I also know how important it is that my patients get checked for early signs of cervical cancer, the most common gynecological cancer worldwide. Traditionally, a doctor would do this with a Pap smear, which involves collecting a sample of cells from your cervix."

"HPV is like the common cold of sex. If you've ever had sex, you've almost certainly been exposed. "I say, 'You know, it's human papillomavirus, so everybody who's a human is going to get it at one point or another,'" said Dr. Rebecca Perkins, an OB/GYN at Tufts University. "We just need to worry about it if it doesn't go away.""

Pap smears commonly cause discomfort and can be deeply upsetting for people with sexual or medical trauma. Cervical cancer is the most common gynecological cancer worldwide, and early detection matters. Human papillomavirus (HPV) causes most cervical cancers and most sexually active people will be exposed; the immune system clears most infections. Persistent infection with high-cancer-risk HPV strains increases cervical cancer risk. New American Cancer Society recommendations permit patient-collected vaginal swabs for HPV testing as a less invasive alternative to clinician-collected Pap smears, though this self-testing approach is not yet widely available.

Read at www.npr.org