The cervix (or neck of the womb) is the part of your womb that you can feel at the top of your vagina. Examining a smear taken from the cervix is a useful way of finding out whether you might have early cancer of the cervix. Cancers that start here often remain in the surface layer for quite a long time before spreading in more deeply. The smear test can detect this early stage so that the cancer can be removed by a simple operation before it has gone too far.

Most women will have heard about this test (also known as the pap test), which is performed by nurses as well as doctors and is offered by your local doctors’ surgery or family planning clinic. You can ask for a female doctor or nurse and book a conveniently timed appointment. It has saved millions of women’s lives and is one of the most successful kinds of cancer screening test.

Why is it necessary

Cervical cancer starts on the surface of the cervix, where it causes particular changes in cells. These changes can be recognised by trained experts when the cells are examined under a microscope. The cancer will not always be limited to the surface, but the smear test can detect large numbers of cases in which cancerous change has begun but has not yet had time to spread below the surface.

There is a virus that is very commonly spread among people living a sexually active life. It doesn’t do much harm to men (at worst causing some small warts on the penis), but women who get this virus are more liable to cervical cancer than those who stick to one partner. This is believed to be the main reason why cervical cancer is commoner in young women than in older women. For this reason, the cervical smear test is really essential in sexually active women.

Cervical cancer starts on the surface of the cervix, where it causes particular changes in cells. These changes can be recognised by examination under a microscope. The cancer will not always be limited to the surface, but the smear test can detect large numbers of cases in which cancerous change has begun but has not yet had time to spread below the surface.

How is it performed

A metal or plastic tube-like instrument called a speculum is insereted into the vagina to hold it open. He or she then uses a small, round-ended plastic or wooden strip to scrape some cells from in and around the opening of the womb. These cells are then smeared on a microscope slide, which is labelled and sent to the pathology laboratory to be examined.