well, currently the standard practice is to get newly delivered mothers to have their PAP smears done 6 weeks post delivery..
it sounds kinda simple & easy, since at 2 months, they have to bring their kid to get their immunization jab..
however, there are still pregnant mothers who are in their 3rd / 4th pregnancy who haven't had a PAP smear done yet..

it's kinda sad to see patients with stage 3 or 4 cervical cancer..
I will always remember the words of my mentor: A woman should not die of cervical cancer..

it's so true, coz cervical CA takes years & years to progress, & we have such an efficient & cost-effective screening modality..

so LYNers, do pass on the word.. k?

it's a standard practice.. it's written in their red/pink antenatal cards..
but sadly, don't think there is enough emphasis placed on it..
sadly so far, the best time to 'catch' them is when they come with menopausal symptoms or some other complaints..

well.. that's about it..
can't comment much about the HPV vaccines though..
still needs time to see how effective it is..
probably worth a try if you have the $..

well, it's effective.. provided you're not exposed to HPV yet..
more applicable to virgins & partners of condom-users..

great info!
and so to reinforce my point..
the vaccine is meant to PREVENT infection.. it's more of a SHIELD rather than a CURE..
so the asymptomatic latent infection could have begun even after the 1st 'encounter'..
you don't use a condom after sex, right?
kind of the same logic used in HPV vaccination..

& a PAP smear is kind of like a Urine Pregnancy Test..
during the early weeks, the uterus isn't that large yet..
so you need a screening test to find out if you're pregnant..
anyhow, after a few months, the uterus will be huge & you'll know that you're pregnant anyway..

but in Cervical Cancer, finding out AFTER you have symptoms -> may be too late...

hope my logic isn't screwing up your minds..

PAP smear at govt clinic won't cost much.. should be about rm5?

5 yearly screening reduces the incidence of invasive cancer by 84%
3 yearly screening reduces by 91% , yearly screening: 93%..

If the quality of a cytology service is high, 3 yearly smears are virtually as effective as annual smears
source: IARC Working Group 1986

LOL, dun kacau him anymore la..
although i do get really confused with d "female" tags sometimes..
dunno if i'm talking to a HE or SHE..

just to supplement cheok's info:

The traditional PAP smear is cheaper coz it just uses a wooden Ayer's spatula, & the slide is prepared by the person who took the smear.. so it can turn out 'cacat' sometimes.. quite operator dependent..

the more 'canggih' one is called the "ThinPrep" method, the smear is taken using a cytobrush, then we shake it into a bottle of solution to dislodge the cells there..
after that, the bottle is put into a machine, where the solution will be sucked through a filter thingie, and the cells will be stuck onto the filter..
then the filter will be put onto the glass slide for reading..