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Insight and Health

Women aren't being told real risks of cervical cancer screening

Efforts to prevent cervical cancer seem so straightforward that few women question them, but unnecessary treatment can cause miscarriages and premature births

By Clare Wilson

30 May 2018

Smear test

Alamy

FOR most women, smear or Pap tests are an uncomfortable but necessary chore. More properly known as cervical cancer screening tests, they usually involve lying down with your legs apart while a doctor or nurse swabs some cells from the top of your vagina.

No one likes it, but it is not usually painful and quickly over with. If anything is wrong, a simple surgical procedure can remove the affected tissue before it develops into something more sinister. In the UK, most women between 25 and 64 are regularly offered tests and usually accept, however grudgingly, as cervical screening is…

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