Every woman should have a pap smear as a part of her ob gyn workup, at least once a year. The pap smear is designed to detect the presence of uterine cancer and similar problems, which if left untreated could result in full-blown cancer and an untimely death.
If you get an abnormal pap smear during your ob gyn test, it's not the end of the world. Have your doctor check for the human papillomavirus (HPV), which causes almost all cervical cancers and abnormalities. If you test negative for HPV, you probably don't have anything to worry about.
