The 60s rock
Thursday February 13th 2020, 10:00 pm
Filed under: Life

This is your last notice, the form-letter email said. You are overdue for a pap smear.

Oh fun.

So I got that over with on Tuesday.

What I had zero expectation of was the doctor saying that that was my final one: I had aged out. I didn’t need to do this again.

Wait. All this time and nobody ever told me I had that to look forward to?? Seriously?

It really *was* my last notice!


Edited to add: I got a note from an old friend, who says that an old friend of hers recently died of cervical cancer at 80 and that even older women in monogamous relationships should still be tested. I’m very sorry for the loss of her friend, and I regret having possibly in any way contributed to anybody else going through that in the future. I apologize.


4 Comments so far
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Hmmmm….”
Do I Still Need a Pap Smear Now That I Am Menopausal?

Even if you are menopausal or postmenopausal, you should continue to have Pap or HIP tests. Women who have had a total hysterectomy for a noncancerous condition and have not had a previous history of precancerous Pap tests may be able to stop Pap screening depending on their medical history and risk of contracting human papilloma virus (HPV). Screening may also be discontinued at ages 65 or 70 if women have had at least three normal Pap tests in a row and no abnormal Pap tests in the previous 10 years.”

Comment by Ruth 02.13.20 @ 10:42 pm

Nice! Congrats.

Comment by ccr in MA 02.14.20 @ 12:42 pm

I don’t do mammo any more either and never had to do a pap smear since I had a hysterectomy age 30.

Comment by Sherry in Idaho 02.15.20 @ 12:14 pm

I had a doctor tell me that she was the attending physician for a convent of nuns, and that she insisted that they get pap smears every three years. Sigh. Yuck!

Comment by LauraN 02.16.20 @ 10:32 pm



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