Did your smear with a Pap 3 result come through the cervical MOT? Then you are probably now in all the stress searching the internet for what exactly such a Pap 3 stamp means. And that quest is not easy. Before you know it you get entangled in long web texts full of medical jargon and you end up with more questions than answers. What is the difference between Pap 3a and Pap 3b for example? What does HPV have to do with it? And what is the treatment? Women’s Health answers all your questions about the Pap 3 result of a Pap smear.
What does a Pap 3a and a Pap 3b result mean?
The Pap classification is a way to assess how suspicious a Pap smear is for (a precursor of) cancer. For cells that appear calm and healthy, you will get a Pap 1 result. For restless cells you get a result between Pap 2 and Pap 5. The higher the number, the more serious the abnormalities. And what exactly does a Pap 3 entail? With this result, there are already a few cells in a precancerous stage of cancer.
Before you get stressed: this does not necessarily mean that you will eventually develop cervical cancer. Your body can also clean up the malignant cells itself. It is therefore quite possible that after a few months you can simply return to the normal population screening with a Pap 1 result.
Knowing more? Read everything you need to know about the Pap 1 result here.
Difference between the different Pap 3 stages
The less damage there is, the easier your body will clean it up. To indicate more precisely how much damage can be seen, the Pap 3 class has been further split. In Pap 3a1 there are a number of cells with malignant traits, in Pap 3a2 the malignancy is more clearly visible and in Pap 3b the most. Sounds unnecessarily difficult, and it is. To make it even more confusing, one Pap 3 result requires you to go directly to the gynecologist and the other does not. More on that later.
Curious about what the other Pap stages mean exactly? From Pap 1 to Pap 5, discover everything about the different results of a smear here.
Pap 3 and HPV positive
Did you have the smear taken for the population screening? Then there is no Pap stage mentioned in the letter at all. It only says that (slightly) abnormal cells have been found in the smear. And that’s not the only bad news. Regardless of whether you received a Pap 3a or Pap 3b result, you are always HPV positive. During the population screening, researchers always first check whether you are infected with this STD. Only when this is the case will they also take a closer look at your cells. This is so arranged, because the chance that you develop cervical cancer without an HPV infection is very small.
Want to know more about this STD? Read everything you need to know about the human papillomavirus (HPV) here.
Referral to gynaecologist
Researchers not only check whether you are infected with HPV, they also check which type of HPV you are infected with. HPV type 16 and type 18 are the most common causes of cervical cancer. With those types you will already receive a referral for the gynecologist with a Pap 2 result.
Knowing more? Read everything you need to know about the Pap 2 result here.
What to do with a Pap 3a result
If you are not infected or are infected with a different type, it is a bit more difficult. With a Pap 3a1, the chance is so great that your body will solve it itself, that no immediate action is needed yet. You will receive another invitation for a smear test in twelve months. If there are still abnormalities, you should see a gynaecologist. This already happens with a Pap 2 result. With a Pap 3a2 and a Pap 3b result, you will immediately receive a referral for the gynaecologist.
Treatment for Pap 3 rash
Even though a referral to the gynecologist may scare you, try not to stress too much. Even with a Pap 3a and Pap 3b you are not immediately committed to a treatment. You will undergo a colposcopy examination. This is where that old trusty duckbill comes into play again. During this examination, the gynecologist looks at the cells on your cervix with a microscope. If the doctor sees something suspicious, they take a bite of the abnormality. This may sound very intense, but it is not a painful examination. It can be uncomfortable and a little unpleasant.
Symptoms with a Pap 3 result
Such a Pap 3 result is of course disappointing. You may wonder if you could have noticed the abnormalities of your cervix yourself. Unfortunately, it often takes a long time before you get symptoms of (a precursor of) cervical cancer. The aim of a population study is therefore to identify precisely those women who develop cancer without complaints. Nevertheless, some women may experience symptoms even with minor abnormalities (Pap 2 to Pap 3a1). Consider, for example, blood loss during or after sex, between two periods or after menopause. At a later stage, you can also experience pain in the lower back or pelvis with cervical cancer.
And of course after the rash you will focus extra on any discomfort, but try to relax. Abdominal pain is less likely to be a symptom of the Pap 3 result than the abdominal pain is less likely to be due to the stress of a Pap 3 result.
Bron: RIVM.nl