How is the pain?

Symptoms of cervical cancer can be either irregular bleeding or pain after sex.

All women over 18 who have ever had sex are advised to have a Pap smear every two years, even if they no longer have sex. as the most common type of cervical cancer usually takes up to 10 years to develop, there is little advantage in having a Pap smear more frequently than every two years.

Your general practitioner may recommend more frequent Pap smears if a previous smear showed significant cell changes or you experience symptomatic problems.